


with strange aeons even death may die

by PsychoLimbo



Series: On the Peculiarity of Dib Membrane [2]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Celtic Fae Mythos, Childhood Trauma, Dib & Zim Friendship (Invader Zim), ESP Dib AU, Fae & Fairies, Gen, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Illustrations, Like the fucked up child-stealing fae mythos from scotland, Older Dib (Invader Zim), Queerplatonic KAZADR, Queerplatonic Relationships, Queerplatonic ZADR, Recovery, Slow Burn, i love that shit dude, modern fantasy kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-02-18 23:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 41,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22768312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychoLimbo/pseuds/PsychoLimbo
Summary: My heart knew the weightTen years worth of dust and neglectWe made our peace with wearinessAnd let it beAn AU in which Dib and Gaz are fae-touched and have to hide their peculiar abilities from everyone, including the alien that moved in a few doors down.
Relationships: Dib & Gaz (Invader Zim), Dib & Keef, Dib & Keef & Zim, Dib & Professor Membrane, Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Keef & Zim (Invader Zim)
Series: On the Peculiarity of Dib Membrane [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1572016
Comments: 112
Kudos: 427





	1. fear & flowers

_ In a clearing surrounded by thick, gnarled trees and dotted with colorful wildflowers, a five-year-old boy pulls a red wagon. In the wagon is a wide-eyed little girl, even younger than the boy, and her brown eyes widen in wonder at the colossal trees that curve overhead like the legs of mute giants. _

_ The boy is speaking to his sister, words long forgotten in the sands of time, but his words cut off the moment the young girl points ahead at the base of a towering fir. He turns his head to follow her finger and freezes at the sight of another child, standing in a perfect ring of mushrooms.  _

_ Even at five years old, the boy knows intimately that something about the little girl is out of place. Where would she have come from? Where are her shoes? Why is she wearing such an odd costume? _

_ But children are shortsighted, and the boy waves a greeting. In response, the girl’s solid green eyes widen and she smiles sweetly. Without hesitation, the enigmatic little girl skips across the clearing and stops several feet away from the pair of toddlers.  _

_ As she bounces lightly on the balls of her feet, she says, “You have such pretty eyes.” _

_ “Thank you! Your eyes are pretty too!” the boy replies without any pause beforehand. _

_ The girl giggles sweetly, pressing a spidery hand to her lips before stepping forward and taking the boy’s hands in hers. She meets his brown eyes with her own unnerving jade-green ones and asks in the most innocent tone,  _

**_“May I have your name?”_ **

* * *

“Alright, brats, who can tell me which constellation this is? Guess wrong and I promise you’ll suffer a fate worse than death.” Miss Bitters hisses from her place at the front of the classroom.

Despite knowing the answer, Dib doesn’t bother raising his hand or looking up and instead keeps doodling in the margins of his notebook. He breathes carefully, deliberately, just as he’s done in the past to try alleviating the headache that throbs behind his eyes. 

Normally, he never has a problem with his ESP in a crowd, but ever since Zim showed up on Earth, Dib’s been stuck with a headache nearly all the time. He narrows his eyes at the mothman doodle he’s just finished. It’s a good thing that he raised his pencil too, since Zim’s aura flares with excited arrogance and Dib flinches noticeably. 

_ “Zim _ knows what constellation that is!!” comes the shout from Dib’s right, “Your filthy species calls it ‘Orion’!”

“Yes, that’s correct. Get off your desk, Zim.” Miss Bitters mutters, followed by the sound of Zim climbing off his desk and sitting back in his seat. 

As if the alien wasn’t already enough of a pain in the ass, he leans forward to bare his zipper-like teeth at Dib in a cocky grin. “Take  _ that, _ filthy Dib-worm! I have bested you yet again!!”

Dib feels his anger rise, but lets out a slow breath and ignores the feeling of his entire highschool class staring at him like some sort of strange and unpredictable creature. And perhaps that’s not entirely wrong. Regardless, class carries on as normal and Dib takes the opportunity to exact petty vengeance on Zim. 

Brown eyes flicker gold as they focus on Torque’s open water bottle several desks away. As the drowsy student nods off a little, Dib narrows his eyes and, without moving a muscle, activates his telekinesis to lift the water bottle a couple inches off of its surface.

With a near-imperceptible twitch of his fingers under the desk, the water bottle goes flying across the room to smack against the back of Zim’s seat, spraying the alien with icy drops of water. Zim immediately lets out a screech and claws at the back of his neck, which hisses with greenish steam. Dib puts on his best ‘startled’ face and looks around the classroom just as every other student is doing. 

Of course, Zim immediately slams a gloved hand down on his desk and points the other at Dib.  _ “YOU!!” _

Dib cocks an eyebrow in mock confusion. “How the  _ hell _ would I manage to throw that at you? It’s not even mine!”

“ENOUGH!!” Miss Bitters snarls, “I don’t care  _ who _ threw the bottle, but I  _ do _ care about disruptive students!  _ Zim,  _ to the office with you!”

Zim’s jaw drops and he gawks at the ancient teacher for a few seconds, then at Dib, who can’t stop the shit-eating grin that curves across his face. The alien doesn’t comment on it, instead glaring daggers at Dib before stomping across the room to storm out the door. Moments later, the dismissal bell rings. With a thrill of anxiety, Dib silently prays to whatever deity is listening that for once Zim  _ won’t  _ inevitably weasel his way out of detention.

Well, the Gods must be upset with Dib for something because of course, Zim is standing ominously on the sidewalk in front of the entrance Dib emerges from. A few curious students cast nosy glances at the pair, probably hoping to see a fight break out. No fight does though, at least not yet, and Dib tenses with narrowed eyes as Zim stalks closer. 

_ “I know you threw that water bottle at me, Dib-shit,” _ Zim says in a low, dangerous tone, “I don’t know  _ how _ you did it, but you’re the only fool on this entire planet who’d  _ dare _ attack me.”

Dib feels Zim’s aura pressing in on him as the Invader draws nearer and he has to fight to stay where he is. His fingers tremble slightly, and Zim must pick up on it because he grins with savage cockiness, “Your fear is duly noted, pitiful  _ human, _ and you are right to be afraid of me.”

“I’m not  _ afraid _ of you.” Dib snaps, and he’s not lying; he hasn’t been afraid of Zim since the alien first landed on Earth several weeks earlier. The boy knows intimately that he could knock Zim flat on his ass right now without moving a muscle, but he also knows that this is a terrible idea, given that there are witnesses. And humans often don’t accept what they don’t understand.

“Really? Because I see your hands shaking, stinky worm-baby.”

“I have a nasty headache, like I always do. Can I go now?”

“ _ Absolutely not-” _

Zim reaches a black-gloved hand out, probably to grab Dib by the wrist, and Dib’s mind immediately supplies him with memories of similarly clawed hands doing the same thing, of the probing stares of mystical beings with ivory-white antlers atop their heads, and the whispers in a language Dib doesn’t know the name of but fully understands:

**_You have such lovely eyes._ **

What happens next is purely instinct; Dib subconsciously activates his telekinesis and it crackles invisibly along his skin to deliver a nasty shock the moment Zim touches him. The alien hisses and hops back a few steps with an eyebrow cocked. For a time, neither of them says anything. The whole exchange lasts mere seconds but that handful of seconds is enough for a fair number of students to witness the whole thing. 

Mind racing, Dib straightens up, hopes he doesn’t look too shaken, and loudly says, “ _ Wow, _ Gaz wasn’t  _ kidding _ when she said wool socks are  _ crazy!” _

That seems to be enough to convince the onlookers that nothing interesting is happening, and they placidly continue on their way out of school grounds. Dib gives Zim a wide berth and breaks into a dead sprint as soon as he passes the school’s front gate. His feet scarcely touch the ground as he runs, and Dib has to forcibly rein in his ESP so that he runs at a more human speed. Either way, he ends up reaching his house’s front door in record time and slams the door shut behind him. 

Once it’s securely locked, he leans heavily against it and tilts his head back to stare at the ceiling. His heart still rabbits against his ribcage like a trapped animal, his fingers shake even more than normal, and cold sweat beads on his face and neck. 

“You look like shit.”

Dib lets out a wheezing huff of laughter. “Do I?”

“Mm-hm,” Gaz hums, eyes flicking up from the screen of her GameSlave, “Did Zim finally kill someone?”

“N- no, no, he didn’t, he just…” Dib trails off and watches Gaz’s face carefully to see whether or not she’ll judge him for whining about something she doesn’t remember, “ ...he tried to grab my wrist and it brought back some memories I don’t wanna think about. It’s fine.”

“Doesn’t sound fine. You should talk to Dad.”

“I dunno, I’m kinda wiped out--”

Gaz narrows her eyes at him from her place on the couch, “You say that  _ every time  _ this happens.”

“Yeah, but I mean it this time. I just ran all the way here from Hi-Skool.”

With one last scowl, Gaz grunts bad-naturedly and returns her attention to her game. Dib waits against the door a minute or two longer, then once his heart rate has slowed enough, he readjusts the backpack slung over his shoulder and kicks off his shoes. Gaz doesn’t object as he makes his way across the room to the stairs. 

She’s probably given up on the idea that Dib will someday open up properly to their dad.

Pushing these thoughts from his head, Dib makes his way down the hall towards his room, eyes flickering to the walls every few steps. One might mistake this for paranoia-- which Dib certainly has an unhealthy dose of-- but upon further inspection, they’d notice the numerous Fae wards tucked behind picture frames, carefully hung from wall sconces, and placed deliberately over each doorframe: a single rowan branch over Gaz’s door, an iron horseshoe over Professor Membrane’s door, and a wall planter overflowing with St John’s Wort over Dib’s own door. 

Dib pauses a moment in front of his bedroom door, inspecting the yellow flowers, before opening the door and flicking on the light. 

Among the dozens and dozens of paranormal investigator gadgets and diagrams are delicately-painted little flowerpots filled with St John’s Wort, primroses, daisies, and clumps of clover. Dib closes the door behind him, feeling immediately comforted by the overwhelming smell of so many flowers.

This is the only place in the world he truly feels safe; like he won’t be stolen by the Fair Folk again.

* * *

While Zim’s original goal was to invade Earth, his attention has been fully captured by the enigma that is Dib Membrane. 

He’s been finding it harder to focus on his mission while reporting in to the Tallest, instead giving his thoughts on his greatest rival. Of course, he’s also described the ‘Fair Folk’ to the Tallest whenever he gains new knowledge on them, but Zim has heard enough about these creatures from his classmates to know it’s completely stupid to go looking for them. 

As for the Dib, well, that’s a whole other story. 

The boy gives off an odd air that Zim can’t quite pinpoint, and he’s been deliberately trying to get uncomfortably close to Dib in an attempt to study the dramatic difference in air pressure around him. The first time Zim noticed this, it certainly threw him for a loop; how can a human change the very pressure of the air, let alone significantly enough for Zim’s antennae to crackle uncomfortably (in the way human ears popping is unpleasant). Then there’s the shock he received when coming into physical contact with Dib earlier today.

He narrows his red eyes and logs the day’s findings in his e-journal. He  _ must  _ be getting close to unraveling the mystery surrounding the Dib.

He  _ must _ be.


	2. lay my curses out to rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _  
> This house says my name like an elegy  
>  Oh my, oh my  
> Echoing where my ghosts all used to be  
> Oh my, oh my_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I received some INCREDIBLE fanart for this AU and I absolutely _NEED_ to share it with you!
> 
> [by p4str13s!](https://p4str13z.tumblr.com/post/190923525454/yo-check-hitamory-s-esp-dib-au-out-if-you)
> 
> [by fandom-mutt!](https://fandom-mutt.tumblr.com/post/190803139936/made-a-little-gif-for-hitamorys-esp-dib-au-a)
> 
> [by the-firebrand-sammy!](https://the-firebrand-sammy.tumblr.com/post/189907979485/hitamory-i-drew-your-esp-dib-au)
> 
> [by paxtheirken!](https://paxtheirken.tumblr.com/post/190717494538/i-have-become-obsessed-with-the-comic-made-by)
> 
> agvkj you guys have no IDEA how much this means to me?? I'm so in love with these agsgdkjajfhs,,

When Dib emerges from his house the following afternoon, he’s not at all surprised to see Zim glaring at him from the front step. Disappointed, yes, but not surprised. Dib stops, blinking tiredly, before heaving a sigh and glowering down at the small flowerpot in his hands. “One day. That’s all I ask.  _ One. Day.  _ Where you aren’t trying to start a fight with me.”

“Pah! Humans are such pathetic creatures,” Zim spits arrogantly. “No Irken would ever complain about being in a fight! Now, tell me your filthy secrets! _ ” _

Dib looks up from the yellow blossoms cascading over his hands and narrows his eyes. “I don’t owe you an explanation for anything.”

“I didn’t  _ say _ you owed me anything. I am  _ demanding  _ it from you, as your future slave-master and Almighty Tallest!”

“Yeah, good luck with that.”

Dib hopes that’s the end of it, but as he skirts around Zim towards the front fence, there’s the sound of hissing pneumatics, mechanical whirring: the eerie warble of metal flexing as it unfolds. Sensing the danger, Dib whirls around to see Zim glaring at him, eyes narrowed into slits as all four PAK legs extend from Zim’s back and curve around to point at Dib like the legs of some colossal arachnid. 

Dib’s heart thrums against his ribs as his anxiety spikes, once more reminded that Zim isn’t just some incompetent loser from another galaxy, but a war-forged soldier with technology at his disposal that the human mind couldn’t begin to comprehend. Brown eyes flick from the razor-sharp tips poised overhead to the hostile alien scowling back at him. 

Zim’s aura pulses crimson with an electronic hum like the buzz of power lines, and each wave of hostility that washes over Dib is like an icepick lobotomy. Dib struggles not to flinch at the migraine growing in his skull.

He tightens his grip on the flowerpot. “Kill me and you’ll regret it,” he says, suppressing the quiver that threatens to creep into his voice.

Zim’s lips pull back to reveal several rows of jagged, pink teeth, and he hisses with laughter. “I won’t regret it. And if I do kill you,  _ nobody  _ will miss you. _ ” _

_ That _ one stings. Dib whistles. “Ouch. Low blow.”

“No such thing in war.”

“This isn’t  _ war; _ this is like bringing a knife to a fistfight in a Denny’s parking lot. And  _ you’re _ the one with the knife,” Dib retorts dryly with a withering scowl.

One of Zim’s PAK legs shoots forward and presses against Dib’s throat. The human boy doesn’t dare move. “Stop speaking, or I’ll tear out your trachea,” Zim hisses.

_ “ _ Do it, _ coward.” _

Zim hesitates, one eyebrow arching in confusion at the response. Dib uses that to his advantage. As Zim tries to make sense of Dib’s challenge, Dib channels the energy that hums in his veins, focusing it on a single point: the razor tip that pricks his skin. Discreetly, Dib forces the energy out through that point of contact, and he feels Zim’s aura flare with shock. Spitting a curse in Irken, Zim winces and yanks his PAK legs back towards himself. The moment the contact is broken, Dib feels his ethereal energy return to him and watches as Zim scrambles to comprehend what just happened.

“ _ YOU!  _ YOU DID IT  _ AGAIN, YOU SLIMY LITTLE—” _

“What are you talking ab—”

Zim lunges, hissing through his teeth. He grabs Dib by the front of his shirt, the Irken’s claws poking holes through the fabric. Zim's eyes burn with fiery hate as he hisses, “I’ll find out what you are, even if I have to vivisect you to do so. _ ” _

A spark of anger flares up in his chest and surges into his throat like molten lead. He lets go of the flowerpot with one hand to wrap his fingers around Zim’s tiny wrist. He looks him dead in the eye before growling, “ _ Nobody _ gets to say that to me. Especially not  _ you _ . _ ” _

Dib isn’t sure what lowered his inhibitions—whether it be the migraine pulsing in his head or the memories of his time with the fae—but he takes a step towards Zim and snaps, “I did  _ not _ spend god-knows-how long in the woods just for some angry  _ muppet  _ to make me relive the hell I went through in there.”

Zim yanks his hand out of Dib’s grip with a rattling hiss and brushes past him in frustration. Before the alien leaves, however, he pauses at the gate and glances over his shoulder. “Cocky brat. You’re so certain you’re  _ safe  _ where you are, but no human methods will stop  _ me _ should I decide to act on my desire to carry out horrifying experiments on you. Watch it, Dib-stink. Your rancid human burrow is not as safe as it once was.”

Once he’s out of earshot, Dib looks down at the golden-yellow flowers in his hands and mutters ruefully, “...but I’m not a human using human methods, am I?”

As soon as the words leave his lips, existential dread hits him with the force of waves on a stormy beach. Thoughts are just thoughts and exist in liminal space, but when those thoughts are vocalized, they become tangible, and Dib just brought his insecurities to life. With a string of muttered curses, Dib plucks a few flowers from the pot in his hand, shoves them in his pockets, and dumps the flowerpot in the grass. 

He needs to clear his head. 

As he lets his feet take the lead, he lets his eyes wander over his surroundings. The sky is nowhere near as smoggy as it was when Dib was younger; now it’s dotted with fluffy, grey clouds and illuminated by a scorching, yellow sun. The old oaks lining the street arch overhead, shielding the road from the ruthless heat of the sun and painting the pavement with dappled sunlight. Through the eyes of anyone else, it would seem like a safe and serene neighbourhood, but to Dib, all he sees are places for faeries to hide. His stomach twists. 

Yet, he keeps walking in the hope that perhaps he can find some solace in the late-summer laziness. 

As he rounds the block, he catches sight of the old playground across the road that he used to visit with Gaz when they were little. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly through his teeth. 

_ They should chop down those trees,  _ he thinks sourly as his eyes trace the gnarled tree trunks surrounding the playground. 

Despite his misgivings, Dib crosses the road and makes his way towards the treacherous-looking tangle of wood and iron. He doesn’t pass the rickety wooden fence that surrounds it, however. Stepping through the chain-link gate would feel like he’s inviting unsavory encounters, like firing a gun in a zombie apocalypse movie. Dib shudders.

He turns his attention to the loose gravel at the base of the fence. 

_ I might as well look for iron bits while I’m out here… it’s good to have something to defend myself with in case I run into a Fae. _

Before he can take a single step, however, he picks up on a curious aura from the opposite end of the playground. Stiffening, Dib pokes his head over the fence and sees a red-haired boy, one he recognizes. A classmate, probably. The boy seems to recognize him, as well, and raises a hand in a tentative wave, offering an awkward smile. 

Dib’s used to people reacting to him like that. This sort of greeting means nothing to him anymore, and he gives the other boy a quick, dismissive wave before kneeling down to sift through the gravel. 

Unfortunately, the aura grows closer, following the fence towards Dib’s location. Dib tenses, expecting the other boy to harass him like every other kid he knows. He doesn’t look up, not even when the boy’s faded blue sneakers scuff into Dib’s peripheral vision and stop. 

“You’re Dib, right?” the boy asks, curiosity seeping into his tone and painting his aura sunflower-yellow.

“Mm-hm.” 

When Dib doesn’t elaborate, Keef’s aura ripples with awkward energy and he tries to keep the conversation alive.

“Whatcha doin’?”

“Boring weirdo stuff.”

The boy kneels down beside Dib, leaning closer to peer over his shoulder. Dib shoots him a glare for being so close, but before he can snap at the boy, his green eyes focus on what Dib’s hands are doing. “Can I help?”

Dib sits back abruptly, scowling at his classmate with mistrust. “Okay, what do you want?”

“What do you mean?”

“You  _ know  _ what I mean,” Dib snaps. “Nobody ever hangs around me unless they want to do some childish shit to me. What are  _ you _ planning to do?”

The boy—Keef, if Dib remembers right—blinks owlishly at Dib as though he just sprouted a second head. “N-nothing! You just seem… lonely.”

“I’m not lonely,” Dib shoots back, breaking eye contact.

Keef lowers his gaze and wrings his freckled hands together. “Okay, but… I don’t have friends either, and you look like you need a friend.”

“I don’t,” he mutters, the fire gone from his tone, “...but I guess you can help.”

Keef’s aura grows larger with puppy-dog excitement, swamping everything in a ten-foot radius and tinting Dib’s vision gold. With a spurt of stubborn energy, Dib forms an invisible barrier around himself with the energy humming through him in place of blood. The gold tones fade out of his vision and the lazy pulse of Keef’s happiness no longer overtakes Dib’s own emotions.

He hates coming in contact with other people’s auras.

Being fae-touched in the way that he is, Dib is more easily affected by auras that aren’t his own, and if there’s one thing that sets Dib on edge, it’s a lack of autonomy. A feeling that reminds him of the past.

“So what are you doing? Serious answers only this time!” Keef’s voice breaks through Dib’s internal turmoil and drags him forcibly back to the present, where he stiffens and takes a moment to catch his bearings.

“O-oh, right,” Dib stammers before clearing his throat and looking back down at the gravel in front of him. “I’m… looking for old nails. I collect weird stuff and… make more weird stuff.”

_ Guess that’s not entirely wrong, _ he adds silently.

“What kinda stuff?” Keef asks as he moves to Dib’s other side and starts copying Dib’s careful sifting.

Dib gives the other boy a brief sideways glance before inspecting a rusted metal bolt in the sand. “Weapons of mass destruction which are banned by the Geneva Convention.”

Keef laughs, his aura rippling blue-green with contentment. “Nah, you don’t seem like the kinda person to make stuff like that. You’re too nice!”

“I don’t think I’m very nice,” Dib replies honestly, “Just weird, and creepy.”

“You can be weird and creepy as well as being a nice person, y’know.”

“...maybe.”

As Dib and Keef make their way slowly along the base of the fence, collecting whatever little metal trinkets Dib finds useful, Keef fills the silence with bubbly chatter about whatever his mind desires. Dib mostly tunes it out and offers a noncommittal hum or nod every once in a while when appropriate, but he does appreciate the warmth the boy’s aura gives off. So he doesn’t try to drive Keef away.

When the sun sinks slowly in the sky to rest on the horizon, Dib finally rises to his feet, stretching his arms and shaking the tightness from his legs. When he does, Keef’s eyes focus on something Dib completely forgot about.

“You have flowers in your pocket?”

“What?” Dib says, before his mind catches up with him and he glances down at the wilting yellow blossoms poking out of his coat, “Oh. Yeah.”

Keef grins, and Dib takes note of the fact that Keef has braces he never noticed before. “I’m really bad with growing plants, but I do like them! What’s your favorite flower? Mine’s a sunflower—they’re so cool!”

Dib takes a moment to absorb the rapid-fire information Keef supplies him with, but once he’s regained his composure, he looks down at his feet and replies, “Pansies. But I mostly grow other kinds of flowers.”

“Well, maybe you should grow pansies, too, if they’re your favorite,” Keef suggests with a shrug. “It’d be a nice change, right?”

For a few moments, Dib considers his classmate’s words seriously. After all, it isn’t a bad idea, changing up his usual pattern of paranoia. He shrugs. “I’ll think about it.”

“Neat!” Keef chirps as he rises to his feet and dusts off his cargo shorts. “Well, I should be getting home—my parents like eating dinner as a family every night, and they’ll be pretty upset if I’m not home in time. See ya!”

“S-sure, bye…” Dib stammers awkwardly as Keef breaks into a jog in the opposite direction of the Membrane house. 

He watches Keef go for a time before gathering up the stack of metal knick-knacks and dumping them in his pockets. Once that’s done, he glances at the setting sun, winces in alarm at the time, and sets out for home. 

The walk doesn’t take long, but it feels much longer when Dib’s thoughts are occupied with plans to thwart Zim, questions about Keef, and images of flowers Dib hasn’t thought about growing in years. 

He’s so preoccupied with his thoughts, in fact, that he doesn’t notice Zim’s aura a few blocks away, watching him with sinister interest in his glowing pink eyes.

* * *

Keef, meanwhile, is having similar thoughts about his encounter with Dib.

He hadn’t meant to run into the strange, quiet kid with pale scars on his hands and face, but Keef is a naturally friendly person; so when he saw Dib at the park, he acted on impulse. And in all honesty, he’d initially let his judgement be clouded by the whisperings of his peers insisting that Dib Membrane would snap and kill someone someday, that he’s probably an evil clone created by Professor Membrane, or a fae Changeling accidentally raised by human parents. But after chatting with his odd classmate, all he sees is a kind person who’s been hurt and abandoned by too many people to trust again. 

Keef screws up his mouth and blinks furiously as his eyes well up with tears— he’s always way too _emotional—_ before raising an arm to rub them. This distraction is what seals his fate. As he lowers his arm, he notices a silhouette in front of him on the dusk-darkened sidewalk. He pauses, squinting to focus on who it is, before laughing sheepishly and cracking a smile. 

“Oh! Hey, Zim! Never thought I’d run into you he—”

Zim cocks his head in a manner that Keef would describe as birdlike—too quick for human bones and muscles to achieve, and too cold and calculated for simple curiosity—and Keef tenses. “The Dib seems to tolerate you. Am I correct?”

Keef cocks an eyebrow and takes a tentative step back. “I-I guess so, but—”

“And human beings lower their guard around trusted companions, right?”

“Dude, you’re being weird. Are you okay?”

Zim takes a step closer. Then another. And another. 

Keef backpedals. 

“Zim is perfectly fine, Keef. Zim is perfectly  _ fine.” _

Keef whirls around, breaking into a sprint back towards a more populated area. Before he gets far, however, he hears an unearthly metallic clanking followed by hissing mechanical parts. Something bangs into his right ankle,  _ hard, _ and he cries out as he loses his footing. He catches himself on his palms and rolls onto his back, his arms raised to defend himself… but he feels all hope drain out of him the moment he sees what he’s up against.

Zim hangs suspended in midair above him, purple eyes wide and a crooked smile on his face, as four massive metal spider legs branch from his backpack and pierce the concrete, caging Keef. As he freezes, heart feeling like it’s about to burst, he finds himself recalling what his classmates keep saying about Dib:

_ He really thinks Zim is an alien! What a freak! _

Keef swallows.

_ Dib was right all along. _

_ _

* * *

“GIR! Take the human-smelly down to my lab! I have a genius plan to gather intel on the Dib!” Zim barks as soon as he kicks open the front door to his base.

GIR, who had previously been sitting on the couch, focuses his wide, cyan eyes on the unconscious human draped over Zim’s shoulders. He claps excitedly. “Ooooh!! Izzit a new friend??”

Zim clicks his tongue. “ _ NO,  _ GIR _!  _ This is simply a guinea pig! A means to an end! A way to reveal the Dib’s hideous _ , hideous secrets.” _

“Okaaaay!” GIR singsongs as he hops off the couch and approaches Zim. 

Zim unceremoniously dumps the red-headed human on GIR before shutting the door and peeling off his disguise. Once he’s comfortable, he heaves a sigh and makes his way across the living room to the kitchen, where the secret elevator to his underground base is located. 

Once he’s made himself a steaming cup of coffee, sweetened to his liking, he navigates the labyrinthian tunnels down to the lab. When he arrives, GIR has already changed the human boy into a medical gown and secured him to the sterile metal table in the center of the lab. Zim nods approvingly at the sight before looking around the room for GIR, finding him trying to swallow an entire watermelon next to the tool closet.

Zim doesn’t bother thinking about where the watermelon came from, and instead makes the executive decision to ignore GIR’s existence entirely for the time being.

Taking one last sip from his ‘World’s Okayest Dad’ mug, he grins maliciously and snickers to himself. “Prepare yourself for my next evil plan, Dib-stink. It’s certain to be my greatest one yet…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Find me on Tumblr!](https://lawlesslizard.tumblr.com/)


	3. ashes, ashes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to Dramance for helping me edit and being an all-around awesome person!

“Hey, Dib. Check it out.”

Dib looks up from his laptop to see Gaz standing in the kitchen with a piece of white bread in her hand. With one eyebrow raised, Dib says, “Check what out?”

With a smug grin, Gaz takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment. In that moment, Gaz’s chest and throat light up orange and Dib catches a brief whiff of something similar to propane igniting. Gaz exhales, and a burst of flames shoot from her lips and engulfs the bread in her hand, effectively toasting it in seconds. She smirks and holds up the toast so Dib can see before calling across the room, “Boom, bitch. You  _ wish _ you could do this.”

Dib blinks. He has to admit, it is impressive. Is it impressive enough for him to not be the jackass older sibling? Nope.

“Neat, but can you do  _ this?” _

He lazily sticks a socked foot out towards where the TV drones on monotonously, reaching deep into himself and activating the powers he keeps dormant. His veins light up cyan, which is always a bit unnerving to see, but he keeps his focus on the TV and extends his ethereal reach out towards it. The TV stand shudders, wobbles, then rises a few inches from the carpet as Dib casts a shit-eating grin over his shoulder at Gaz. 

He doesn’t have time to dodge the piece of honey-slathered toast before it slaps him in the face.

He shrieks, a sound he’d never admit to making, and loses his focus. The entire TV stand hits the floor again with a thunderous crash, making Dib scream a second time. When he finally yanks the sticky toast from his face and stares at the TV stand with wide eyes, he realizes that Gaz is laughing at him.

Scowling, he winds up to whip the toast back at Gaz, but her laughing abruptly cuts off and her purple eyes flash ominous orange. “Do it, fat-head. I dare you,.” she hisses.

Dib, not wanting to poke the bear, slowly lowers the toast and settles for flipping the bird. 

“What in the name of  _ Isaac Newton  _ is going on in here?” Professor Membrane’s voice sails out from the laboratory stairwell. 

Gaz and Dib both swivel their heads around with wide eyes to stare in guilty silence as Membrane emerges from the basement, face smudged with god-knows-what. The world-renowned scientist glances from a smoke-scented Gaz, to Dib’s honey-smeared face, to the new cracks in the old wooden TV stand. His brows lower and he sighs in exasperation. “I said you could use your… abilities… in the house freely as long as there’s no fighting and no messes being made.”

“Technically, there’s no mess,” Gaz replies, to which Dib lets out an offended scoff, “Except for Dib’s face, but that’s nothing new.”

Professor Membrane looks like he wants to say something, but instead lets out another heavy breath and turns to head back down to the lab. “Just… try and get along. Please. I’m working on something important and I cannot afford to be distracted.”

Dib deflates at his father’s words, but he supposes it’s his own fault for having too-high hopes. Of course he’s not worried about his kids, just his projects. Gaz radiates disappointment and hurt and it weighs down on Dib’s shoulders like lead.

“Sure, Dad,” Dib mumbles.

“Good to hear. Now, farewell! There is  _ science _ to be done!”

In the deafening silence that follows Membrane’s departure, Dib watches and feels as Gaz struggles with the emotions hidden beneath her composed facade. He wants to say something in an attempt to cheer her up, but he knows that she’ll see it as pity and lash out in return. So Dib says nothing. 

He silently closes his laptop, then stands up and heads for the bathroom to wash his face. Before he can wet a cloth under the warm water, however, there’s a knock at the front door that makes him pause. With a pensive look on his face, he extends his senses and tries to make sense of the aura at the door.

It feels familiar, like he’s been in close proximity with this individual before, but alien and unpredictable at the same time. It isn’t Zim, since Dib’s ever-present headache is no worse than normal, and he knows Zim’s aura intimately. Nor is it any of the media weirdos that frequent the neighbourhood in hopes that they’ll snap up an interview from the illustrious Professor Membrane. No, this aura is focused on a task so intently that no emotion other than barely-concealed hostility radiates from it.

Hollow, is how Dib would describe it.

He warily scrubs the honey from his face and dries himself off before emerging from the bathroom to see Gaz going to answer the door nonchalantly. Dib stiffens.

“W-wait, I’ll get it,” Dib stammers, breaking into a jog and taking the doorknob from Gaz.

Gaz cocks an eyebrow at Dib in confusion. “Why? You got a  _ girlfriend  _ or something?”

“What—no, I don’t have a girlfriend. I’m just… I dunno, this person feels weird...”

“Oh,” Gaz hums as his words click in her head, “ _ Ohhh, _ okay.”

With a nervous breath, Dib opens the front door a crack. His stomach twists violently when he sees who it is that stands at the door.

The blank, soulless aura radiates from none other than Keef. 

Dib opens the door all the way with a shocked expression. After an indeterminate amount of time, he finally finds his voice and chokes out, “K-Keef. What h—”

“Hiya Dib!” Keef practically screams with a smile contradicted by hollow, empty eyes. Dib opens his mouth to say something in response, but finds himself frozen by panic when Not-Keef hurls himself forward and engulfs Dib in a suffocating hug. 

Unable to think or breathe, Dib involuntarily channels his energy into his arms and wrenches himself out of Keef’s grip. The taller boy cries out in pain as Dib accidentally twists his arm the wrong way, but Dib doesn’t comprehend that at all. He just knows that he got away from what his fear deemed a threat and that his lungs are working once more. As shudders make their rounds through Dib’s body, Gaz materializes in front of him, arms crossed as she glares at Keef.

“Gaz, it’s fine—” Dib starts, but is completely ignored as Gaz snaps at Keef.

“Alright, bootleg Ron Weasley, what’s your deal?” she demands, “Who are you, what’s your business with Dib, and what’s with the touchy-feely bullshit? You have ten seconds to explain before you receive one free ass-kicking.”

Keef stares blankly at Gaz, unblinking and unfeeling, before laughing robotically and giving them both a fake smile. “Dib’s my friend! I just wanted to walk to Skool with him, y’know? Friend stuff!”

“It’s Sunday,” Gaz says flatly, not missing a beat.

Ignoring her completely, Keef focuses his empty eyes on Dib. “Guess I messed up the days huh, Dib? Silly me! I’m just so weird, ha-ha!”

_ “Weird” doesn’t begin to describe it. _

It’s only when Dib meets Keef’s eyes that he catches something he didn’t notice before: the microscopic spider-webbing lines that branch out from Keef’s eyelids and vanish into his hairline. Not only that, but Dib swears he sees something metal through the translucent green of Keef’s irises. 

Dib puts two and two together.

“Get out of here, Keef,” Dib hisses, nails biting into his palms.

Keef tilts his head in confusion. “But… but we’re best friends! Best friends spend all their time together!”

“Well,” Dib replies, “I guess I’m just not a very good friend.”

Without another word, Dib shoves Gaz behind him into the house and backs in after her. As Keef jabs out a hand to stop them, Dib shuts the door and locks it with ESP-enhanced speed. Keef bangs on the door, wailing like a mournful spectre and shouting for Dib as Dib himself stares coldly at the door and seethes with barely-concealed rage.

Gaz detects his anger. With a questioning glance at her brother, she asks, “Okay, what the hell is going on here?”

“Zim,” Dib growls, “Zim did something to him. That little— _ ” _

“Yeah, I figured, but can you elaborate?”

Dib sucks in a sharp breath before snapping, “The kid was nice to me for maybe thirty minutes and Zim must’ve seen it. Now he’s done something to Keef because he thinks he can get to me that way. What a  _ prick.” _

“Well, you’re really pissed off, so I guess his plan worked, kinda,” Gaz comments at the same moment her eyes slide to something behind Dib. “Oh, now  _ that’s _ creepy.”

“What?”

Dib glances over his shoulder and immediately regrets it. 

Staring in the window with wide, red eyes and his fingers pressed against the glass is a blank-faced Keef. An unearthly light radiates from the boy’s mechanical irises, reflecting in the glass and painting the carpet with dappled scarlet. Keef’s fingers drag slowly down the glass, leaving tracks in the fine dust coating it, and after he blinks a few times, a beam of red light shoots from his eyes. With a quiet hiss, laser light starts cutting a hole in the glass. 

Dib’s heart leaps into his throat. “Ohhhhh shit. Dad’s not gonna be happy about that.”

“He’s not gonna notice—” Gaz starts nonchalantly, only to be cut off by the crunch of glass as Keef forces his way through the destroyed window. “—okay yeah, he’s gonna notice.”

Now that Keef is slowly rising to his feet in front of the siblings, Dib notices the slowly-bleeding cuts on Keef’s fingers. Dib clenches his jaw. From what he can tell, it seems that Zim used some form of Irken technology to hijack Keef’s body and monitor the world through the boy’s eyes. Which means Dib needs to be careful with his abilities if he wants to keep them a secret from Zim. 

Dib is jostled from his thoughts as Keef lunges for him with bloodied hands outstretched. With a hiss, Dib backpedals into the living room, pursued by Keef. The redhead knocks over a side table in his haste to catch Dib, and Dib just barely manages to catch it and slow its fall with a subtle burst of ESP. Keef doesn’t seem to notice what happened, but he points at Dib with a shocked expression and shouts, “Your eyes! They changed colour!”

“That’s his sharingan.” Gaz calls from where she stands at the entrance to the living room.

Dib dodges a punch from Keef and uses his brief reprieve to yell, “Gaz, what does that even  _ mean?!” _

“What’s going on up there?!” Membrane yells from the basement at the same moment Gaz’s fingers light up orange.

“Uhhhh… dance battle?” Dib tries.

After a few nerve-wracking moments, the professor finally lets out a chuckle and calls up, “Intriguing! But please take it outside so you don’t destroy anything!”

As he finishes speaking, the hiss of an active blowtorch echoes up the stairs and drowns out the sound of Keef snapping, “Stop resisting! We’re  _ friends,  _ Dib, and friends share secrets with each other! Now share  _ yours! _ ”

“You really think I’m gonna do anything for you while you’re trying to knock my teeth out?!”

“Worth a shot.”

Dib hisses through his teeth, tensing. When the redhead throws another heavy punch, Dib ducks to the side, grabs Keef’s wrist, and mumbles an apology under his breath. With his face lowered to hide the altered color of his eyes, he extends his perception and focuses it on the life-energy that flows through Keef’s veins. 

The path of Keef’s energy is altered, crackling with unfamiliar electrical currents that pop lightly when Dib tests the flow with his enhanced perception. He stashes that knowledge away for later use, as he only has a short window of opportunity before Keef gets a chance to deal Dib a nasty blow. Keef’s energy flares with hollow anger and a precognitive shiver creeps up Dib’s spine to warn him of the imminent threat, but Dib doesn’t move. Instead, he focuses on Keef’s energy, murmurs a handful of Fae words under his breath, and steels himself for what’s coming.

He siphons Keef’s energy, stealing it and channeling it into his own body through his fingertips. The feeling is euphoric, sending his mind to incredible heights and making him feel both weightless and immovable. Before he can sap too much of Keef’s life-force, however, he breaks their point of contact and whirls around to race for the door. Gaz follows him as he unlocks the door and bursts out onto the frosty grass. He instead spins around to watch as a dazed Keef staggers drunkenly out onto the front steps.

Dib stiffens, hoping his abilities don't manifest as light pulsing through his veins, and prepares himself for whatever happens next. What he doesn't expect, however, is for the red of Keef's irises to fade back to emerald-green and the previously-hostile boy to flash a childish grin in Dib's direction. 

Regardless of how Keef seems to relax, Dib still feels the hissing static radiating from the redhead's aura like a winter draft, biting and unwelcome. Dib doesn't lower his guard. With a painfully fake laugh, Keef brings bloody fingers up to his head and runs them through his hair robotically. "That was fun, Dib-thing! We should go back inside and do it aga—"

"Only one creature gives me nicknames like that,  _ Zim," _ Dib interrupts coldly.

Keef says nothing for a few seconds, freezing in place with his lips slightly parted before furrowing his brow and replying, "I do not know what you mean, Dib."

"Oh, I think you do," Dib snaps, "Are you seriously gonna pretend that whole mess in my house didn't just happen? Shit, you're dumber than I thought."

Keef's smile twitches. "You're so mean, Dib. So mean." 

"Yeah, I'm mean. It's how I prevent people like you from harassing me. Now you have five seconds to get the hell off our property before—"

"Before  _ what _ , Dib?" 

Narrowing his eyes, Dib extends his range of perception into the ground, feeling the hollow rigidity of water pipes and the cavernous laboratory beneath his feet. He doesn't dare break eye contact with Keef as he follows the path of the water pipes to the spigot on the side of the house. A sly grin creeps cross Dib’s face.

"Or this."

He reaches out with his powers, taking firm hold of the spigot and wrenching it open. He  _ feels _ rather than hears the gurgle of water rushing through hoses and pipes underground like a nebulous serpent with its fangs bared to strike. Scarcely a few seconds later, water sprays out of the ground from the sprinkler system, showering Dib, Gaz, and Keef in an icy mist. Keef's mechanical eyes hiss and crackle as the water shorts them out, and the boy lets out a horrible shriek as Zim's cruel implants shock Keef relentlessly. 

Dib's hair sticks to his face, his cowlick plastered down from the water that weighs on it, and he has to use his hand to push the wet strands out of his eyes. When he does, he winces at the sight of Keef clawing at his own face and screeching. Flickering bolts of electricity shoot from his eyes every few heartbeats and oily black tears run down Keef's cheeks, giving him the appearance of some eldritch demon with ichor-stained eyes.

Dib takes a step forward out of instinct, reaching for Keef with a scarred hand. As he approaches Keef, however, the mind-controlled boy throws a punch Dib notices too late. The punch hits him hard in the jaw and knocks him flat on his back.

Stars swim in Dib's vision and he struggles to stay conscious as the taste of blood fills his mouth, but he still reaches out with his senses to see what Keef is doing. To Dib's utter surprise, he finds that Keef's aura is growing farther away and roiling like the surface of a turbulent river channel, mind and machine grappling violently for control.

_ Maybe that distraction is all Keef needed to try breaking out of it _ , Dib ponders.

"Damn, he really decked you good, huh? How's your face?" Gaz says nonchalantly, her voice pulling Dib from his thoughts. 

Dib pathetically reaches a hand up towards the blurry silhouette of his sister. "I'm dyin, Gath."

Gaz laughs at his slurred speech, but grabs his limp hand and drags him into a seated position anyways. "And here I thought you couldn't sound any stupider."

Dib gives her his best approximation of an offended scowl, "I bith ma tongue, Gath!"

"'I'm Thib Thembrane and I thound thtupid,'" Gaz mocks with her own slurring tone before grinning evilly at Dib.

Dib groans. "Juth wait til I recother, then ith over for you bithes. Both you an' Keef."

Before he can hear Gaz's response, Dib's world fades to black and he flops back down in the soaked grass.

* * *

**Listen to me** . 

_ Shut up. _

**Obey me, filthy meatsack, or I'll replace more than your disgusting eyes.**

_ Shut up! _

Keef's feet carry him in the direction of Zim's base against his will, away from the only person who can help him out of his unsavory situation. And that terrifies him, to think that he may be stuck as a prisoner in his own body forever. 

He's read articles before, about people in comas who are aware of everything that's happening to them but powerless to even twitch their fingertips. That thought always terrified Keef. He's always been extra careful to make sure he doesn't sustain any sort of injury that would cause that. Who knew he'd end up locked in his own body by an honest-to-God alien and forced to beat up Dib Membrane against his will?

_ Huh. If I get out of this, I could write one heck of an autobiography _ .

**You will never get out of this, earth-brat! You are my personal meatshield and battle-slave from now until your corpse rots into sludge!**

_ Dib knows you're an alien, and he will stop you! _

**He's never stopped me before. If he wants to stop me, he'll have to reveal those secrets he's trying so hard to keep hidden. Zim knows better! Zim knows that the Dib is not one of you slimy earthlings! He's no human, and neither is his scary little sister!**

Keef doesn't reply. Instead, he starts fighting back, screaming and trying desperately to regain some semblance of control as his hijacked body carries him to Zim's door.

Zim might’ve turned him into a puppet, but Keef refuses to go down without one hell of a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on [Instagram!](https://www.instagram.com/hitamory/)


	4. compassion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Dramance for proofreading this chapter!!

Beneath an endless sea of stars, Dib sits cross-legged on the roof of his house with a pair of binoculars pressed into his face. A cool breeze wraps around Dib’s body like an icy hug, and he shivers. Even so, he doesn’t take his focus off the peculiar house in his line of sight for an instant. Doing so could mean he misses something important.

He can’t risk missing anything, or else his self-assigned mission to rescue Keef will fall apart. If he doesn’t save Keef, he knows he won’t be able to live with himself; the redhead’s showed him nothing but kindness, and Dib would be no better than Zim if he didn’t at least  _ try _ to help. 

_ If I can’t save the only person who’s been nice to me, do I really deserve his kindness? _

Dib hasn’t moved in hours, not since the sky was painted pink and gold and the sun hung lazily overhead, but he’s not seen Zim at all. Dib mutters a sour curse under his breath. Zim is the least subtle creature Dib’s ever met, and he was hoping that this behavior would make an appearance and subsequently make his job a hundred times easier by putting Keef in an easy-to-reach spot.

Dib lingers on the roof for a few minutes longer before his hero complex forces him to act. 

_ I suppose now is as good a time as any, _ he thinks.

Dib shakily rises to his feet, groaning as his bones crack painfully before extending his perception in the direction of Zim’s house. He doesn’t sense any auras, not right away at least, but after a few seconds of steady concentration he picks up on the vaguest flicker. Dib furrows his brow and pushes his perception even further. 

There, deep underground, he feels Zim, Keef, and GIR. With a rush of excitement at having located Keef, Dib retracts his senses to a comfortable radius and winces as his ears ring. As he rubs at his ears ruefully, Dib mentally chastises himself for pushing his ability past its limit. He lingers on the roof for a minute longer before heading for the edge. With practiced ease, he steps off the roof and activates his abilities again, enveloping himself in warm, crackling energy and carrying himself down to ground level. When his feet touch the grass, he lets out a quiet breath, condensation puffing from his lips into the chilly air, and starts walking towards Zim’s house. 

The walk is painfully short, and Dib regrets not planning things out more carefully before making his way here, but decides not to worry too much. If things go south, he can make his own escape route. 

Scarcely breathing, Dib lowers himself into a half-crouch and stalks up to the uneven fence surrounding Zim’s base. As he approaches, he hears the ominous whirring of the alien’s robotic gnomes scanning their surroundings for intruders. Dib subconsciously holds his breath. 

As he reaches the loose board in Zim’s fence, close to the ventilation shaft, Dib realizes that the gnomes will pick up on his heat signature and send Zim an alert the moment he steps foot on the lawn. He wants to curse under his breath, but chooses not to for fear of the surveillance gnomes picking up on it. 

After a handful of minutes where Dib ponders his options, he settles on the most appealing one. Of course, he still has his doubts, but Dib supposes that if he doesn’t take a few risks, he’ll never make any progress in his mission to help Keef. He shuffles quietly back along the fence until he’s uncomfortably close to one of the gnomes; specifically the gnome with the clearest view of the vent Dib plans to crawl into. With a thrill of adrenaline, Dib slips his backpack off his shoulder and presses his palms into the grass. 

_ Here goes nothing. _

Dib allows himself to pick up on every single source of life-energy within a ten-foot radius, and the feedback makes him flinch. Every single sound—from the tiny hum of life in each blade of grass, to the high-pitched pulse of energy radiating from every insect around him—hits Dib with the force of a tsunami. Waves upon waves of energy batter his brain, rattling his teeth and sending electricity down his spine, but it’s not what he’s searching for. He tries hunting for something more unnatural.

And amongst the earth’s keening, he hears a low-pitched buzz.

It takes all of Dib’s willpower to shut out everything else, but after a small scuffle with his own ability, Dib manages to focus solely on the buzzing. The energy is unmistakably electric, coursing along thick cables rooted deep in the ground that wind back to the belly of Zim’s base.  _ This _ is what Dib was looking for. 

Sucking in a deep breath, Dib activates his ESP. 

Using only his body’s energy, he hardly manages to shift the cables an inch before pain explodes behind his eyes and he has to stop. With a whispered curse and a fair amount of guilt, Dib siphons the energy of the grass and insects closest to him. As he steals the life-energy of the tiny lives around him, Dib channels it outward, boosting his own power until finally he feels the cables snap. The growling electricity ceases its tirade and melts into silence as Dib opens his eyes again. 

All the grass within a metre’s radius around him has wilted and turned black, and the hollow exoskeletons of beetles and ants litter the eerie circle. Despite having deactivated the gnome, Dib scowls. 

Ignoring the guilt he feels at having killed so many small creatures, Dib forces himself to rise to his feet again. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he makes his way back to the loose board and quietly shifts it aside. 

It takes hardly any energy to unscrew the bolts from the vent cover, and before a minute has passed, Dib’s managed to slink into the ventilation shaft. He doesn’t bother shutting the vent again, since he’s pretty sure he’s going to be tearing out of the base like a bat out of hell, and he’d rather not have to fight with a stupid grate if he’s being chased by Zim. 

As much as he’d like to use his cellphone to light up the vent, he keeps it in his pocket and descends into blackness, using careful hands to feel out the path ahead of him. Yet the further he goes, the more claustrophobic it gets, and the inky blackness of the enclosed vent starts taking a toll on his resolve. 

He wishes momentarily that he had Gaz’s pyrokinesis instead, so he could at least light his way as he winds deeper and deeper into the bowels of enemy territory, but he supposes that if he did have her powers, he wouldn’t be able to sense his targets’ auras. He’d be even more lost than he is now. Dib sighs. 

After what seems like an eternity of stumbling through oppressive darkness, Dib slowly begins to realize that a dim light is filtering in from someplace ahead of him. Where he couldn’t see a thing before, he can now make out the dust and bolts lining the inside of the ventilation shaft. He tries not to get his hopes too high, but he can’t help feeling just a little optimistic about his little mission.

Finally, he reaches a grate inside the base and peers down through it. Below him, he sees the garish pink floor of the base’s inner halls and feels a triumphant grin curve his lips upward. With a small burst of ESP, he pushes the bolts out of the grate and guides them quietly to the floor, followed soon after by the grate itself. Carefully, he lowers himself to the floor and begins tiptoeing through the base. 

If Zim’s computer notices him, it makes no move to stop him, and Dib is silently grateful for that. Following his enhanced perception, he lets his abilities guide him in the direction of Keef and Zim’s auras. The halls twist and turn like an ever-changing labyrinth as Dib treads lightly, and he worries that he’ll never find his way out of here again. 

_ I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. _

When Dib finally reaches the door to the room housing Zim and Keef’s auras, he pauses several metres away from it. He worries that if he steps any closer, Zim’s sensitive antennae will pick up on his footsteps or his breathing and he’ll end up having to fight for his life. Dib wants to sigh, but doesn’t and instead closes his eyes, presses his fingers to the wall, and extends his perception through the hollow metal walls until he picks up on the harsh sound of Zim’s voice.

“...you continue fighting me every step of the way despite the fact that breaking free is impossible. The tech implanted in your filthy skull is eons ahead of your pathetic earth technology! Cease your struggling before I replace your brain entirely!”

A choked sound follows, and Dib worries that Keef is injured before realizing he can’t sense the crackling electricity that hums through Zim’s PAK legs. If he can’t sense that, then the legs are safely tucked away and not poised to strike. Not to mention, Zim’s aura still hovers a fair distance from Keef’s, so the alien isn’t physically attacking the boy. That’s good. 

_ Now, let’s see what’s going on in your head… _

With a bit of effort, Dib manages to focus solely on Keef and the life-energy coursing through his blood; it still crackles with electrical currents from whatever tech Zim implanted in him. Dib traces the path of electricity to Keef’s head, where he senses a foreign body wedged in the space between Keef’s eye socket and upper jaw. Dib’s head throbs, warning him of how much he’s overusing his powers, but he tries his best to ignore it and feels out the foreign body. 

It’s about the size of a pea and flat, pressed between the skin and muscle. Thankfully, it isn’t fused to the bone—that’d be a pain to remove without damaging the structure of Keef’s skull—and is thin enough to only cause a small laceration upon removal. A matching device hides beneath the skin on the other side of Keef’s face, which is a bit of a nuisance, but Dib supposes he’ll just have to deal with that. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly through his lips.

_ Here goes. _

With a silent apology, Dib siphons just enough of Keef’s life-energy to swiftly tear the two devices out through the scars beneath the redhead’s eyes. The moment he sends the devices sailing across the neighbouring room, Keef screams in pain. Zim shouts in alarm.

Dib makes his move.

He rushes the door and kicks it open with ESP-enhanced strength. The sight that greets him is a bloody-faced but clear-eyed Keef, a very shocked Zim, and a GIR chewing on putty. Dib slips his bag off his shoulder and clocks Zim in the face. Zim stumbles back with a screech of anger, and Dib bolts forward to grab Keef by the wrist. 

“Come  _ on!!”  _ Dib hisses.

Keef doesn’t need to be told twice, breaking into a sprint as Dib tears out of the room. An ominous hiss comes from behind them. Dib’s stomach twists. He’s heard that sound enough over the past few months to know how dangerous a situation he’s in. 

“You were right! Zim  _ is _ an alien!!” Keef remarks incredulously as they rocket down the halls. 

“Not the time, Keef!” Dib hisses, catching himself on his hands as he skids around a corner.

PAK legs clank against the hollow steel floors behind them and Dib doesn’t dare look back. Keef does, however, and yelps at the sight. “We’re so  _ fucked!” _

“No, we’re not!”

After a few minutes of fear-crazed sprinting, Dib catches sight of the grate he popped out of the ceiling and puts on a burst of speed. He shoots ahead of Keef and leaps up for the vent with ESP-fueled strength. Catching himself on his fingers, he pulls himself up. Once he’s shifted around in place, he leans out of the vent and extends a hand to Keef. “Jump!”

“How did you—I can’t jump that high!”

“Just do it already!”

Keef looks unsure, but jumps for Dib’s hand at the same moment Zim skids around the corner with his teeth bared. Dib takes a risk. He activates his ESP, delving into his own energy reserves, and grabs Keef. As he lifts Keef up, Dib coughs and brilliant cyan blood spurts from his nose. Some of it hits Keef in the face, but he doesn’t pay it any mind. A PAK leg impales the vent where Dib and Keef were mere heartbeats before, but they’re gone by the time Zim reaches it. 

* * *

Zim almost goes after them, and he’s certain he could catch them in no time at all, but something catches his eye. As he lowers himself gracefully to the floor, he keeps his eyes trained on the oddly-bright blue spots dotting the pink floor below the ventilation shaft. He observes it with his head tilted for a few moments. Then, he extends a gloved hand.

The smell and feel is unmistakable: the bright blue liquid is human blood. But Zim is confused; human blood is supposed to be red, he knows this intimately from his various experiments on the strange creatures. Yet the Dib has blood the colour of GIR’s eyes. Zim wipes his hand on his pants and rises to his feet once more, head tilted upward to where more of the substance drips from the vent.

He lifts himself on his PAK legs, poking his head into the vent to get a closer look. And as Zim had expected, the blood also glows in the dark. He narrows his eyes pensively. 

“Fascinating.”

* * *

Dib and Keef don’t stop running until they’re safely inside the back fence of the Membrane house, slumped back in the grass as their chests heave with painful gasps. They remain laid out like that for several minutes, waiting for their hearts to stop pounding and their throats to cease aching. When that finally happens, Keef is the first to break the silence.

“You saved me. You really saved me. Thank you. Thank you, thank you so much!”

Dib lets his head loll to the side, fixating Keef with tired amber eyes. “Anything to piss off Zim.”

Keef laughs breathlessly and reaches up to wipe his blood-streaked face on his forearm. “I can’t believe you were right. Zim really is an alien, and all this time, you—”

“Told you all,” Dib interrupts, “I’m not crazy.”

“Well, you  _ are _ crazy, but not for the reason everyone says.” Keef says, “You’re crazy for breaking into an alien hideout, that much is true. Everything else? Not so much.”

Dib shrugs without comment.

“Hey, you threw your backpack at Zim, right? That really knocked him off-balance, what did you put in there?” 

Dib smirks. “You remember those metal bits we picked up the other day?”

“Yeah…?”

Dib turns his head to stare up at the night sky. “That, mixed with five pounds of sand.”

Keef laughs. “Oh my  _ god, _ that’s amazing!”

For a short time, Dib finds himself laughing along with Keef. And the feeling is like nothing he’s ever experienced before—laughing by yourself is nowhere near as fun as laughing with someone else. 

_ Are we friends? _

“By the way, I’m kinda confused about something,” Keef says, cutting through Dib’s thoughts.

“What?”

Keef chews his lip, unsure for a moment, then asks, “How did we jump ten feet straight in the air? And why is your blood blue?”

Dib’s mood sours. His smile twists into a scowl, and with a severe tone he replies, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“But—”

“I should be getting to bed,” Dib says, sitting up. “We have Skool tomorrow, and Miss Bitters will skin us alive if we come in late.”

Keef looks like he wants to argue, but decides against it and sits up as well. “Sorry for bugging you. I won’t ask about it again.”

“Thanks.”

“Well, since we’re friends now and all,” Keef begins, which makes Dib stare at him in shock, “Wanna walk to Skool together tomorrow? This time without any mind-control crap.”

Dib stares, mouth gaping and eyes wide as grapefruits before he manages to choke out, “Y-you really…? Tomorrow?”

“Yeah! You’re a super nice person, and since we both know Zim’s an alien, it’s better to stick together, right?”

He wants to say something, to thank Keef for actually wanting to hang out with him, but his voice refuses to work. All Dib can manage is a quick nod. Thankfully, Keef seems to understand what Dib wants to say and flashes him a grin before wincing at the cuts on his face. “I gotta go get cleaned up now—my folks are probably worried about where I was. See you tomorrow?”

“Y-yeah!” Dib blurts out.

Keef rises to his feet and waves before effortlessly vaulting the back fence and jogging off in the direction of his house. Dib stares after him for a few minutes after he’s vanished from view, then flops back down in the grass and lets out a noisy sigh. 

_ I made a friend. _

Dib’s eyes widen further.

_ I really have a friend. _

A genuine smile spreads across Dib’s face.

He can’t remember the last time he smiled out of happiness.


	5. linger like phantom limbs

When Dib meets up with Keef the following morning, he’s thankful to see that this time, there’s no Zim-related foul play at work. At the end of the Membrane family’s front walk, Keef bounces on the balls of his feet, and as Dib draws closer, he catches sight of two band-aids on Keef’s cheeks. 

“You didn’t go to the hospital for those?” Dib remarks, which makes Keef glance over his shoulder at the approaching Dib. 

He smiles as he says, “Nah, they’re not too bad. I’m also a horrible liar, so any story I make up to excuse the cuts and scars’ll get me some funny looks. With some polysporin and band-aids, I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t want to tell the truth about being mind-controlled by an alien?”

“I’m pretty sure you know how well that’ll go.”

“Fair enough,” Dib agrees, “So… you’re okay with, you know, being seen hanging out with me? I’m not exactly a well-liked person at Skool...”

Keef wrinkles his nose. “I don’t care what people think.”

“You should.”

“Well I don’t,” Keef shoots back as they begin walking in the direction of the school. “Anyone who thinks you’re a loser doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”

Dib titters awkwardly to mask the redness in his cheeks. “Th-that’s really nice of you to say. Thanks, I guess?”

“No problem! If you ever need a boost in your mood, just let me know and I’ll dump so many compliments on you, it’ll make you barf.”

“That’s not gonna take too many compliments.”

A laugh tumbles from Keef’s lips, and Dib feels the ghost of a smile threatening to curve his own lips upward. The corner of his mouth twitches, but he manages to keep his expression neutral in spite of the warmth in his chest. Unfortunately, Keef notices this and cocks an eyebrow at Dib. “Is there a reason you never smile, or…?”

“There’s a reason,” Dib replies cautiously, “But it’s not really something I want to talk about. Not yet, at least.”

“Oh, okay! Sorry I keep asking about touchy subjects. I’m kinda bad at social cues…”

“It’s fine.” Dib chews the inside of his cheek thoughtfully, “I guess we both suck at social cues then, huh?”

“Guess so!”

They walk in amicable silence for a few more blocks, punctuated only by Keef’s occasional remark, before they reach the part of the journey that always sets Dib’s nerves alight: the short path through a small grove of aspen trees. Usually, Dib takes the long way around and makes it to his first class in the nick of time, which both prevents him from having to deal with bullies before first period and eliminates the risk of running into Fair Folk. 

To any other person, this small forest would pose no threat as it’s far too small to house any dangerous Fair Folk. To someone like Dib, however, the grove looks like a prison. 

He doesn’t notice that he’s stopped walking until Keef glances back at him and calls, “Dib? What’s wrong?”

Jumping at the unexpected remark, Dib shakes himself and stares dead ahead at the dirt path framed by golden-brown foliage. “Let’s go around.”

“Go around? Why?” Keef asks as he casts a confused look ahead at the path, “The Hi-Skool is right on the other side of this shortcut. If we go around, we’ll have to walk an extra three blocks!”

“That’s okay.”

“Dib—”

“Look, if you want to go through there, be my guest. You’ll have to drag my cold, dead body to Skool if you want me to follow you.”

Keef fixates Dib with a perplexed look for a short time, before understanding seems to dawn on him and his expression softens. “Alright. We’ll go around.”

“You don’t have to come with me,” Dib says quietly, but Keef just shrugs.

“We’re friends. I’m not gonna ditch you when I said I’d walk with you.”

Dib wants to argue, rolling his lip between his teeth, but decides to let Keef continue following him and nods. “I’m sorry...”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize,” Keef replies in a gentle tone, like he’s speaking to a skittish animal. 

As they walk in silence, Dib can’t help but notice that Keef keeps stealing sideways glances at him. To the redhead’s credit, he’s doing a fair job of being discreet about it, but while an average human may not have picked up on the sensation, Dib feels it intimately. He heaves a sigh, feeling Keef’s aura poke and prod at him curiously, as though the aura has the mind of an inquisitive toddler. Dib glances to his right at Keef, who not-so-subtly placed himself between Dib and the small forest. 

“Thanks for coming with me. It’s… nice. To not have to walk alone, I mean,” Dib finally says, quirking his mouth at Keef. 

In response, Keef flashes Dib a cheery grin and exclaims, “No problem! You’re fun to be around.”

Dib opens his mouth to speak. 

His voice dies. He feels two icy eyes boring holes in the back of his skull. He whips around. Powers flaring, heart thrumming, Dib stares at the source. 

Something at the edge of the trees shimmers. Dib’s mouth goes dry. 

“Dib? Hey, what’s wrong?”

Dib can’t respond to the question. All he can do is stare back at the base of the oak where the unearthly movement came from. He only returns to himself when Keef touches him, and that simple poke yanks him back with a thrill of fear. All his mind supplies him with are those cursed memories of marble eyes and elegant horns, of silver tongues and wicked claws.

He shrieks, stumbling away from Keef and throwing his arms up in front of his face. Shudders rack his body, rattling him to the core as his terror eats away at him from the inside out. He still feels something watching him, feels an aura he’s too shaken-up to recognize, and his mind screams at him to run, run,  _ run! _

In a frenzy, he extends his senses and grabs onto the foreign, powerful aura that lingers at the treeline. With a wheeze of effort, he overpowers the aura with his own, crushing it like a paper ball and throwing it further into the trees. As the aura crashes further into the woods, pain explodes behind Dib’s eyes and sends blue blood spurting from his nose. 

Only when the aura vanishes out of range does Dib focus on himself once more. 

His breath comes in short, ragged gasps and his heart pounds against his ribs like a caged rabbit, threatening to leap into his throat. Sweat and blood drip down his face and stains the sidewalk below him. And a few feet away, hands turned palms-up in a placating gesture, is Keef.

It takes a few moments for Dib to pick up on Keef’s voice. When he does, however, he focuses on it like a lifeline, wide amber eyes meeting calm green. 

“...it’s okay. You’re okay. Nothing here is going to hurt you.”

Dib swallows hard. His arms gradually lower to his sides.

Keef doesn’t break eye contact, but Dib can’t help detecting the scorn and mistrust radiating from all who saw his reaction. His eyes flick over Keef’s shoulder to meet the glare of an elderly woman. 

Keef shifts to block Dib’s view of her. “Keep your eyes on me, okay? Match my breaths.”

Dib watches as Keef starts taking exaggerated, slow breaths. After a bit of uncertainty, Dib does his best to synchronize his own breaths with Keef’s, and after an indeterminate amount of time, he starts feeling more like himself.

When his heart stops racing, he wipes his bloody nose on the back of his hand. Dib doesn’t miss the way Keef eyes the cyan smear left behind, but thankfully the redhead doesn’t take the opportunity to prod at Dib’s “quirks.”

Several blocks away, the school bell rings. 

A fresh wave of panic washes over Dib as he realizes that his breakdown is the cause for their late arrival at school, but Keef is there before he can spiral. Speaking in a gentle tone, still not stepping inside Dib’s personal space, Keef hushes Dib and doesn’t take his eyes off him. 

“It’s okay, Dib,” Keef says, “You’re okay.”

“Okay,” Dib chokes out with a leaden tongue.

Shortly after Dib’s panic subsides, Keef’s eyes glitter with something mischievous. A smile spreads across his freckled face as he straightens up. 

“You’ve cut school before, right?”

Dib cocks an eyebrow at the redhead, still a bit frazzled from his panic attack. “Yeah, why?”

Keef shrugs. “We’re late, and I’ve never cut school before. Show me what it’s like!”

“Wait,  _ what?” _ Dib splutters, “You actually  _ want _ me to be a bad influence?”

“Yeah! We can mess with Zim or something!”

_ This kid is off his rocker. _

“The whole, uh, “horrible brainwashing device and kidnapping by an alien invader” thing didn’t like… deter you from harassing Zim?” Dib asks, unable to keep the incredulous tone from his voice.

Keef only laughs. “You kidding? I mean, it was scary and all, but there’s two of us now!”

Dib worries at his bottom lip.  _ He’s not exactly wrong… _

Slowly, Dib replies. “Okay. He’ll probably be at Hi-Skool anyways. Maybe we can get close to his base without getting attacked.”

Exhaustion drags at Dib’s limbs from his panic attack and the subsequent use of his powers to throw the creature into the woods, but he still feels a bit excited at the prospect of having someone on his side for once. 

All these years, he’s been alone with no friends, little parental support, and no therapist to help with his mental scars. But for the first time, he actually has a  _ friend.  _ A friend who believes him, who accepts him, and who will support him. 

The thought makes a lump form in his throat. He coughs to suppress it, then turns and starts in the direction of Zim’s base. 

“Let’s get going, then.”

* * *

“Filthy little  _ worm _ with his enigmatic bullshit—” Zim snarls viciously as he hauls himself sourly from a thornbush. Crushed leaves and dead flower petals stick to the Invader’s tunic, assaulting his heightened senses with the stink of rot and leaf litter, and pinpricks of magenta blood well up from the thorns that pierce his exposed skin.

With a string of curses in both English and Irken, Zim starts pulling the thorns from his right forearm using his teeth. The whole while, his mind races as he ponders the odd incident he just experienced. And as far as Dib-related shenanigans go, Zim is convinced that this is the strangest.

Zim had followed Dib and Keef from a fair distance, hoping Dib’s uncanny senses wouldn’t pick up on his presence. It had worked for a time, and Zim was hiding at the base of an oak tree when the melting frost fell from its leaves onto Zim’s neck. The Irken had reacted to the burning sensation by flailing at where he assumed the source was, and that somehow caught the Dib’s attention. Zim had been certain he was in the human boy’s blind spot; after all, no human can see what’s directly behind them. 

Regardless, Dib noticed Zim’s presence and stared directly at where Zim crouched behind the oak’s trunk. Hardly a heartbeat passed before Zim’s antennae crackled painfully and the air pressure increased dramatically. Something… something had wrapped icy claws around Zim’s very  _ soul _ , disrupting his PAK’s currents through his body and squeezing the oxygen from his lungs. 

Zim thought he was going to die. 

His PAK squealed in his skull, flashing warnings of various severity across Zim’s ocular implants and making his head ring. One moment, he was crouched on the forest floor, desperately gasping for air and clawing at his PAK, and the next, he was being tossed through the air at breakneck speed, trees rushing past him in the blink of an eye. 

He crashed into a tree eventually, which knocked him unconscious, and he woke up a few minutes later in a thornbush at the base of the aforementioned tree, a raccoon gnawing on his boot.

Zim yanks a thorn from his knuckles and spits it ruefully into the bushes. 

_ This little endeavor was nothing but a pain in the ass,  _ Zim thinks bitterly,  _ None of my questions regarding the Dib were answered. _

He gives up on extracting the thorns from his skin after several minutes, deciding that he’ll have his healing pod do the dirty work for him, and rises to his feet once more. Behind him, the school bell rings. 

For a time, he weighs his options: keep up his attendance at the Hi-Skool, or pursue Dib and Keef. He almost chooses to head for the school, favoring routine over risk, when his antennae twitch and he ducks into a clump of shrubs. Purple eyes scan the sidewalk just outside the trees, and before long, he catches sight of Dib and Keef walking past. 

Unfortunately, they happen to be heading for Zim’s base. 

Zim initially scowls at the thought of having to chase the two human boys from his property, but that distaste slowly morphs into excitement when Zim realizes that he may have another chance to study Dib. Green lips peel back to reveal pale pink teeth. 

He’s going to get answers, even if he has to beat them out of his target.

* * *

Keef has always been particularly good at detecting the tiny fluctuations in people’s moods. From the tiniest flicker of irritation, to the fleeting moments of happiness in a depressed friend’s eyes, he’s always tuned in to the emotions of others. His parents joke about having an empath for a son quite often, and Keef is inclined to believe it.

He’s glad for this “ability” of sorts now, because Dib doesn’t like showing his emotions outwardly. And while he looks just as stoic as ever, Keef picks up on the slight tension in his face, the minute trembling of his fingers, and the subtle stiffness in his gait. Keef frowns thoughtfully.

The closest word Keef can find for what he’s picking up on is “world-weary.” 

As much as he wants to comfort his friend, Dib is very guarded and skittish when it comes to his personal life, and Keef knows very well that Dib won’t appreciate any unsolicited questions. So Keef gives Dib a smile and remarks, “Anything I should know about Zim that I don’t already know?”

Dib looks up from the sidewalk at Keef, and Keef once again finds himself hit with a wave of apprehension at the boy’s eerie golden-yellow eyes. As pretty as they are, there’s something inherently  _ wrong _ about a human with yellow eyes, something beyond words and understanding that puts Keef slightly on edge. Dib blinks slowly, not unlike a cat, then glances ahead at the roof of Zim’s base towering over the street. 

“The gnomes are controlled by hostile AI. They can move at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, fire lasers from their eyes, and have grip strength that can fracture bone. Each one is outfitted with a hypersensitive pair of cameras that pick up on thermal signatures and motion, warning the base’s main computer about intruders. Basically, the gnomes are more evil than regular gnomes,” Dib explains without hesitation, his eyes glittering with a new rush of life.

Keef doesn’t want to think about how Dib discovered all these things. Instead, he clears his throat and slows to match Dib’s shorter stride. “Jeez, they sound creepy.”

“They are,” Dib hums, “but that’s par for the course with Zim.”

As they approach the house, Keef finds himself watching the gnomes with mistrust. They don’t move at all, perfectly mimicking normal gnomes, but he believes Dib over what his eyes are telling him. He feels Dib’s eyes on him and glances to his right to see his companion watching him pensively. A moment later, his lips curve into a sly smirk. “One other thing about the gnomes…”

Dib walks forward, directly for the sidewalk surrounded by the gnomes, and Keef opens his mouth to shout. Something stops him though, and he’s not sure whether it’s fear or faith in his friend’s judgement, but he closes his mouth once more. 

Dib steps through the gate. All the gnomes’ heads snap around to stare at him. Then, they shoot through the grass as if possessed, all making a beeline for Dib. Dib stands there until the very last second. Just as their metallic hands make a grab for him, he takes a single step back outside the gate, his hands laced behind his back. The gnomes freeze. For a few seconds, they linger mere inches from Dib. When he makes no move to step back inside the fence, they turn and rocket back to their original places.

Dib glances over his shoulder at Keef, eyes glittering with amusement. “They can’t do anything if you’re not inside the fence.”

“Oh my God, don’t  _ scare _ me like that!” Keef finally wheezes, a hand pressed over his thrumming heart. 

Dib lets out a huff, perhaps his version of laughter, and returns to where Keef stands a short distance down the sidewalk. “It was funny though, right? A murderous alien Invader with tech we can’t even comprehend can’t program his stupid gnomes to leave his property.”

“I… yeah, you’re right,” Keef admits with a chuckle, “Yeah, that’s pretty funny now that I think about it!”

When the exhilaration of Dib’s childish stunt passes, the pair exchange a quick glance and turn to walk along the fence that surrounds Zim’s base. Dib leads the way, and Keef is happy to follow him. It doesn’t take long for Dib to find a place he likes, nestled in the shadows of the single solitary tree on Zim’s lawn. He sits down in the grass with his back against the fence, slides his backpack off, and begins rummaging around in it. Keef joins him, still leaving about a foot of space between them to ensure Dib doesn’t feel uncomfortable. Whether or not Dib notices, Keef isn’t certain, but he’s happy to see the tension slowly melt out of Dib’s posture as the moments pass.

After a few seconds, Dib pulls a tupperware container from his bag and pops the lid off. Keef is surprised when Dib holds out the container to him. 

“Oh, uh… you’re okay sharing your food with me?” Keef asks.

Dib shrugs. “Me and Gaz made too many churros the other night. You don’t have a choice. You’re getting churros whether or not you want them.”

With a laugh, Keef reaches into the container and takes out a single churro. He doesn’t even have time to shove it into his mouth before Dib forces a second churro into Keef’s free hand. 

Keef laughs at the boldness of the action, almost choking on the first churro as he takes a bite of it. As they sit there in the shade, chattering about what nonsensical pranks they can pull on Zim, Keef becomes aware of footsteps. 

They vary in stride, like a toddler learning how to walk, but clank against Zim’s front walk at such speed that it couldn’t possibly be an actual toddler. Dib picks up on it at the same time Keef does, and the two of them share a confused look before poking their heads over the fence. 

Both boys are tackled to the ground as something small and green sails over the fence with a gleeful shriek. The smell of pudding assaults Keef at the same time his back hits the grass, and he feels a jolt of fear when he sees what it is that attacked them. 

“Hiya Mary!” 

Dib sits up with a heavy sigh, which Keef notices contains no fear or anger. Just… exasperation. Chocolate pudding stains Dib’s shirt and he holds his arms way out in front of him to avoid more pudding hitting him as the little green dog flails its arms excitedly. Its wide, cartoonish eyes focus on the churros left in the tupperware container, and Dib has to struggle to hold the dog away from the snacks. 

“Didja bring me food? You did! I want em!” 

“Dib, isn’t that—” Keef begins as he, too, sits back up. 

Yellow eyes roll in defeat as Dib lets go of the dog and lets it maul the container and its sugary contents. “That’s GIR, Zim’s attack robot. But GIR isn’t really a threat, unless you’re made of food.” He gestures vaguely at the churro-flavored carnage smeared across the grass, “As you can see here.”

Keef stares blankly at GIR. He can’t say that GIR was directly involved in Zim’s whole “put horrible implants in Keef’s face” thing, but he does feel a bit apprehensive towards the robot. However, he supposes that if Dib isn’t concerned, Keef has no reason to be either. 

Once GIR finishes horking down both the churros  _ and  _ the container, he launches himself back at Keef and Dib, who are thankfully prepared this time around and duck out of the very sticky robot’s way. He careens into the grass several feet away with a shriek of laughter. Keef stares again.

“Is he…?” Keef starts.

“Okay? No, GIR is never okay,” Dib replies flatly. 

GIR starts digging up dirt and shoveling it into his mouth. 

_ You’re right about that, _ Keef thinks to himself.

“GIR is GIR, and he’s useful in ways you often don’t realize until it’s too late.” 

Keef feels his blood turn to ice at the same moment Dib freezes. Slowly, the two of them turn their heads to the source of the newcomer’s voice.

Zim sits perched on the fence in his human disguise, purple eyes narrowed into slits. “Such as distracting you two fools enough for Zim to get this close.”

Dib’s hand slowly reaches for his bag. Zim’s backpack whirs ominously and a massive steel leg shoots out of it, pinning the bag to the ground. “Oh no, you’re not getting me again, Dib-stink.” 

“Damn. Thought the “backpack to the face” maneuver would work again,” Dib replies with a nonchalance that Keef can hardly believe.

Zim’s eyes flare with irritation. “And what makes you say that?”

Dib’s lips pull back into a savage grin, and something about that smile makes Keef feel like someone just walked over his grave. He’s not sure what it is about the malevolent grin, but just like Dib’s eyes, he knows that there’s something  _ very _ wrong here. Yet the word for that “something” lingers just out of his grasp, nebulous and dark, and all he’s left with is his friend’s eerie, deathly smile.

“Because you’re stupid enough for something like that to work twice.”

Dib’s fingers brush the steel spider leg arcing over Zim’s back, and in that instant, the alien lets out a choked sound and twists back into an agonized position, claws twitching in the air. His eyes go wide and roll back as sparks shoot from the glowing pink orbs at each joint of the spider leg. Zim topples back over the fence, the metal leg pulling free from the backpack, and Dib breaks the feather-light contact between them.

He tosses his bag over his shoulder. Lunging to his feet, he grabs Keef by the wrist. “He’s only gonna be incapacitated for a few seconds! Go!”

Keef doesn’t have to be told twice. The two boys spin on their heels and bolt for the green space behind Zim’s base.

Dib easily outstrips Keef, pulling ahead of the redhead with ease. And Keef is happy to follow Dib. After all, he knows this neighbourhood better. They skid out into the alley behind the green space, Keef catching himself on one hand as he turns. They start bolting for Dib’s house, but are forced to skid to a halt. Zim stands in the middle of the alley, sparks still flying from his metal backpack. He grins savagely. 

“End of the line, Dib-stink.”

Keef is the one to grab Dib by the arm this time. He drags Dib out of the way of Zim’s claws and dives into the ditch between the alley and the forest surrounding the city. Zim hisses in anger and bolts after them. Keef’s plan is to get to a thick part of the forest, where Zim won’t be able to maneuver using his spider-legs, but as his sneakers crunch in the leaf litter, Dib stops so sharply Keef gets whiplash. 

With a groan, he shoots a cross look at Dib. “What’s your—!”

“Fair Folk,” Dib hisses, eyes blown wide with panic, “We’ll be caught by them if we go any further.”

“Well where else can we go?” Keef shoots back, “It’s either facing an urban legend, or being decapitated by an alien, and I’d rather deal with the urban legend!”

Dib takes a nervous step back. “I…I can’t—”

Behind them, an aspen trunk cracks. Dib and Keef barely dodge the falling tree. Zim’s silhouette rises against the blue sky and blistering sun. “I am  _ sick  _ of your pitiful fleeing, Dib!” Zim howls, “Get over here so I can study you!”

Dib’s head whirls around from Zim to Keef to the thicker parts of the forest and back again. Keef wrings his fingers anxiously as Dib makes his choice. 

“Okay, I’m with you,” Dib says, eyes still wide with fear, “B-but I’ll lead the way. I know this forest pretty well.”

Keef thinks that last sentence is odd, considering how Dib feels about forests, but he doesn’t have time to question it. Instead, he follows Dib as the shorter boy bursts into a sprint. They dodge trees, shrubs, and uneven ground as they race into the belly of the woods.

At some point, Keef notices that he and Dib are running faster than any human should be able to. He doesn’t have time to question it.

All he has time to do is run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rUH ROH RAGGY
> 
> Find me on [Instagram!](http://www.instagram.com/hitamory)


	6. will o' the wisp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _tread lightly, for you are no longer in a friendly domain_

Dead leaves crunch quietly under Dib’s boots as he leads Keef deeper and deeper into the woods, and their breaths come in puffs that sail into the chilly air. Dib hasn’t felt Zim’s aura in a while, but he hasn’t stopped moving out of fear that their scent will pool in one spot and lure hostile creatures to their location. Despite that Dib can’t feel any creatures nearby other than deer and birds, he feels as though every shadow conceals a beast.

Once the forest’s canopy blocks out the afternoon sky, Dib stops. Keef does the same, fixating Dib with a confused look. “Why are we stopping?”

“Precautions,” Dib replies flatly before turning completely to face Keef and meeting his eyes. “Take off your shirt.”

“What?!”

Dib winces, only just realizing how weird his demand sounds. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound…Anyways, I just want you to flip your clothes inside out and wear them like that. It’ll make you invisible to the Fae.”

Keef cocks his head to one side. “Aren’t you gonna do the same?”

“I mean, I can if you want,” Dib starts, “but it won’t do me any good since I’m already…well, I’ve had run-ins with the Fae before and I can’t hide from them anymore.”

After a few moments where Keef watches Dib pensively, the redhead heaves a sigh and slips off his flannel jacket and grey t-shirt. Once Keef’s put his clothes back on, Dib feels his tension melt a bit. At least with Keef protected, Dib won’t need to worry about anyone but himself being seen. 

“Dib…” Keef begins as they start walking once more, “...you talk about Fae like they’re real. Are you okay?”

Dib pauses mid-stride. Slowly, he glances over his shoulder at Keef, who looks at Dib with something akin to pity. 

_ I knew it,  _ Dib thinks to himself,  _ I knew he’d eventually believe I’m crazy. _

“You don’t have to believe me,” Dib says as he continues walking. “I know what’s real. Call me crazy all you want, but just humor me at least. Please.”

“I wasn’t gonna call you crazy, Dib! I just—”

_ “Shh!” _ Dib interrupts sharply as he picks up on an inquisitive aura a short distance away.

His heart thrums hard against his ribs, growing even more frantic as the aura draws nearer. All his brain supplies him with are the same fleeting images of gossamer wings and shrewd tongues, no matter how hard he tries to force them back. Cold sweat beads on his face, rolling down his neck and staining the neckline of his blue shirt. 

Dib plans on using his own quick wit and silver tongue against the Fae being that approaches them, but that resolve only lasts until he catches a glimpse of the ethereal white light drifting through the aspen and alder. He bites his tongue to stop himself from screaming and grabs Keef by the wrist, bolting in the opposite direction. Dib can taste blood, and he’s not sure whether it’s from biting his tongue or the branches lashing his face, but he doesn’t care. All he can focus on are his own strides as he tears through the woods. 

His vision whites out, but he keeps sprinting forward until his lungs burn and his legs threaten to give out. In fact, he’s even forgotten about Keef, who’s still being dragged along by Dib. 

“Dib—wait, you’re—Dib! You’re going too fast!” Keef gasps, but while Dib hears the words, he doesn’t process them and forces himself to put on a burst of speed.

“Slow… _ down!” _

Arms wrap firmly around Dib’s middle. The air leaves his lungs in a painful wheeze, and he crashes into a clump of tall grass as Keef tackles him to the ground. Dib lies flat on his back, drenched in sweat and gasping for air as Keef lets go of him and slides back so that he’s firmly seated on Dib’s waist. 

“Okay, could you  _ please _ tell me what the heck is going on with you?” Keef says with a sharp look at Dib. 

In response, Dib kicks his legs to try dislodging Keef. As expected, Dib’s smaller size leaves him unable to shove the larger boy off. But he still tries anyways, kicking violently at the air until he’s too exhausted to do anything other than lie still and try to catch his breath. 

When he finally finds his voice, Dib coughs and stammers, “The Fae. They-the-they’re everywhere. I know they are. I can’t feel them, but I know what they’re capable of! We can’t stay in one place too long or they’ll find us! They’ll find you, and take your—!” 

Dib slaps a hand over his own mouth in horror. 

_ I almost told him— _

“They’ll take my what?” Keef asks, head tilted to one side.

Dib shakes his head. “Never mind. I don’t want to discuss this right now.”

“No, you’re not getting out of this one again,” Keef says firmly, “I respect you and whatever you went through, but I think I have a right to know something if that “something” involves me.”

“Keef, I  _ really _ don’t—”

“Please, Dib.”

For a reason Dib can’t explain, he feels his stubbornness relent just a bit. He’d been fully prepared to fight tooth and nail if it meant he wouldn’t have to disclose anything about his past. But the tone of Keef’s voice strikes a chord in him; something about it reminds Dib of himself. 

Dib lowers his gaze, hoping Keef won’t notice the way his eyes shimmer with moisture.

“They’ll take your name, like they took mine.”

* * *

Zim stands surrounded by hawthorn and willow trees, scanning the surrounding underbrush for any sign of his quarry. He clicks his tongue in irritation.  _ I lost the trail.  _

The Invader activates his PAK almost instinctively, one slender metal leg bringing out a small screen displaying a locator. For half a second, he spots two blinking green dots on the screen—Keef and Dib, no doubt—but the screen crackles with static and hisses loudly before blacking out completely. Zim curses in Irken at the sight of his locator device, tapping one gloved claw impatiently against the screen. 

“ _ Work _ , you Irk-forsaken piece of—” Zim grumbles bitterly before returning it to his PAK and stomping off in the last direction he’d seen the two human boys running. 

As he rounds a clump of raspberry bushes, he freezes.

Floating between two birch trunks is a small blue-white orb. 

For a short time, Zim merely scrutinizes the creature with narrowed purple eyes, two PAK legs extended defensively. When the thing makes no move to attack, however, Zim takes one step forward. Then another. And another. 

He walks forward tentatively until the blue-white orb is less than a metre from him, and now that he’s this close, he can make out two small eyes and a pair of wispy, armlike appendages extending from it. Zim reaches one claw out to touch it…but before he makes contact, it disappears with a sound like windchimes.

Zim recoils in alarm and instinctually stabs the leaf litter below where the creature had been floating. As expected, his PAK leg skewers only a handful of dead leaves. Yet, despite his aggressive action, the little orb reappears with a ghostly whistle several feet away.

Behind it, more of the creatures illuminate a path through the woods. 

Zim stares. He’s oddly mesmerized by the little creatures, so much so that his mind fills with static and goes blank as his eyes remain locked on them. 

_ Where are you leading me, Earth-creature? _

Zim moves to follow the trail.

* * *

“What do you mean they took your name, you  _ have _ a name!” 

“I had a name before, but they stole it and called me Dib! Why would I lie about something like this?!”

Keef drags a hand down his face with a groan as Dib watches him with narrowed eyes. “If that’s true, then what’s your real name?”

Dib snorts. “When the Fair Folk steal your name, they steal  _ all _ of it. That means the memory of it, your memories of when you had that name, and your ability to hear or read it ever again. I don’t  _ remember _ my name, and I don’t remember anything from before I was Dib. It’s a big fucking void in my memory that I’ve tried for  _ years  _ to fill, but I don’t remember anything!”

The story is outlandish at best, but the look in Dib’s eyes combined with the fire in his tone isn’t something Keef can just ignore. The redhead lowers his gaze and steps off of Dib. 

“I’m sorry,” Keef murmurs. “This is just...a lot to take in. I shouldn’t have doubted you in the first place.”

“It’s fine...Let’s just focus on getting the hell out of here,” Dib replies with a sigh, rising to his feet. 

Keef stands up as well, and only then does he notice that the forest has grown dark, illuminated only by lightning bugs and pale moonlight. His eyes widen. “Has it really been that long already?”

“No,” Dib says, “time moves differently when you’ve passed into the Fae realm. I guess I ran through a gateway and didn’t notice.”

“Wait, we’re  _ where?!” _

“Keef, I am literally on the verge of a mental breakdown because of where we are. I’d rather not repeat the name of the place we’re in.”

“Sorry...”

Dib pushes his tousled hair out of his face and glances off to the right. After a few moments scanning the forest in silence, he meets Keef’s eyes again. “Have you got a flashlight on you? I must’ve dropped my phone when I was running, so I don’t have anything to light the way.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure, use mine,” Keef replies, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. 

As he flicks on the flashlight, however, Keef doesn’t notice that he’s pointing his phone directly at Dib’s face. Dib fails to notice this until it’s too late, and winces when brilliant white light hits him square in the eyes. Keef opens his mouth to apologize, but the apology turns to ash in his mouth when Dib opens his eyes again. 

“Holy shit...” Keef breathes.

As if Dib wasn’t strange enough, Keef finds himself staring Dib in the face as the shorter boy’s pupils reflect the flashlight beam back at Keef, like a cat’s. Out of curiosity, Keef shifts the light from side to side and finds himself mesmerized when the reflection of the light in Dib’s eyes shifts with it. 

“Are you done?” Dib asks flatly, which makes Keef yelp in surprise.

“Y-yeah, I am! Sorry, your eyes are just…”

Dib smirks. “Creepy?”

Keef shakes his head. “No, they’re cool.”

Dib turns his face away quickly enough for Keef to realize that Dib must be hiding something in his expression, but Keef doesn’t comment on it. He’s pestered Dib enough for one day, and he’d rather not ruin their already-rocky relationship if he can help it. Instead, he commits this new discovery to his mental collection of “Weird Dib Things.” 

He’s sure that if he’s gentle and patient, Dib will willingly share his mental scars. And when that happens, Keef will be there to help his friend come to terms with those scars.

* * *

Zim’s not sure how long he’s been walking.

He just knows that he  _ needs  _ to see what the little blue orbs are leading him towards. His mind still remains empty, occupied only with anticipation and intent as he navigates tangled briars and hops over streams. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he’s aware that the day has shifted into night at an unnatural pace, but he ignores it and labels it a “future Zim” problem. 

His boot clips an exposed tree root, and Zim catches himself on a swiftly-extended PAK leg before he can topple into a ditch filled with murky water. He hovers a handful of inches over the water’s surface, unmoving as his mind begins to whir once more. 

It almost seems as though the root moved on its own, since Zim hadn’t seen it there before he tripped.

Zim picks himself up and squints at the blue orb-creatures for a few moments, then looks down at where the root should be. To Zim’s surprise, he finds the root gone. All that remains is a small pile of newly-upturned dirt. 

_ It did move on its own. _

Zim feels a shiver run through him. 

_ Something is very wrong here. _

He feels like a dozen eyes are boring icy holes into him all at once.

_ Where am I? _

A branch snaps overhead. Zim slowly looks up.

**_“May I have your name, strange creature?”_ **

Perched over Zim like a herald of oblivion is a massive, three-headed vulture.

* * *

Keef doesn’t dare step where Dib hasn’t stepped for fear of causing some form of catastrophic event. Nor does he make a single sound. He’d rather not be responsible for raining hell down on himself and Dib. And although he’s quite tense about the whole thing, Keef finds himself in silent introspection.

He’s never quite found the urban legend of Fae to be of much interest. After all, even if the Fae  _ were _ real, they’d never wander into urban areas so they wouldn’t be worth worrying about. But now, in this ethereal forest, with his enigmatic friend, Keef finds himself thinking that maybe he should’ve paid more attention to the rumours his peers liked to spread about Fair Folk. 

As they clamber over the roots of an uprooted oak tree, a flicker of movement catches Keef’s eye. His head snaps around in the direction of the movement, but Keef misses whatever caused it. In front of him, Dib says, “It’s a brownie. They don’t typically cause problems, so we can ignore it.”

“What’s a brownie?” Keef whispers, continuing forward while still glancing over his shoulder for any more signs of life.

“They’re a household Faerie. You’re lucky if you ever see one, since they only come out at night. Every house tends to have one unless it’s heavily warded; they tidy up and do chores while the house’s occupants are asleep.”

“Oh, really?” Keef remarks, his nerves replaced by curiosity, “they sound really sweet.”

“Mmhm. Actually, without the help of Brownies, I wouldn’t be here.”

“What do you mean?”

Dib doesn’t say anything for a long time. He’s quiet for so long that Keef’s actually given up on getting an answer and resigned himself to walking in silence, when Dib quietly replies, “A Brownie named Aed took pity on me and helped me escape. Since, uh… since I was kidnapped by the Fae. She felt bad for me and found me a gateway so I could get home.”

As much as Keef wants to pry into the details of Dib’s past, he manages to show restraint. “She sounds like a good friend,” he murmurs.

“She was. I can honestly say that she’s the only Fae I’d like to see again.”

A smile finds its way to Keef’s face. “I’d like to meet her too.”

They lapse into comfortable silence then, the only sound being the chirp of crickets, the hooting of owls, and the brushing of leaves against Dib and Keef’s clothing. Most of the tension has left Dib’s shoulders, which Keef is thankful for, and Keef speeds up to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with his friend. Dib gives him a brief sideways glance, and Keef doesn’t miss the flicker of gratitude in those golden eyes. 

As they walk, Keef gains the confidence to start looking around him, taking in the scenery and whatever oddities he might catch a fleeting glimpse of. The more he looks around, the more he starts to notice small differences in the flora and fauna that human realm creatures wouldn’t have. Things such as the three-eyed barn owl perched overhead, the cluster of bluebells that ring like actual bells when the cool breeze shifts the blossoms, and the fireflies that look strangely like tiny winged humanoids. As they round a cluster of hazelnut trees, a herd of snow-white deer watch them with ancient, all-knowing eyes.

_ The Fae realm is beautiful _ , Keef almost wants to tell Dib, but catches himself before he can. He’s not sure how Dib will react if Keef starts gushing about how wonderful the Fae realm is. 

The sun’s already beginning to rise again, casting a red-pink hue over the forest and sending stark black shadows of tree trunks sliding over the undergrowth. The animals of the Fae realm begin to retreat into the thicker parts of the woods, and Keef feels almost sad that he won’t see them again. 

Keef’s just about to ask Dib how far they have left to go when Dib stops dead, twigs cracking under his shoes. Keef glances ahead over Dib’s shoulder. “Hey, what’s wrong—”

“God damn it, Zim,” Dib hisses sourly before whirling around and grabbing Keef by the wrist again.

Keef is momentarily worried that Dib’s going to go on another frantic tear, but feels both confused and relieved when Dib herds him into the hollow beneath a fallen tree. The redhead cocks an eyebrow. “Dib, what’s going on?”

“Something very,  _ very _ annoying. And dangerous. Don’t come out until I say so, and don’t you dare make a single peep. You got me?”

“I… got you, I guess? But—”

“Super. I’ll be back, maybe.”

Before Keef can protest, Dib’s racing off into the nearest clump of red willow. Dib hasn’t been gone more than ten seconds when a tiny sigh brushes the leaves to Keef’s right and makes him snap his head around in shock. As Keef watches with wide green eyes, a peculiar little creature uses its dainty hands to pull aside the ferns and steps out to stand beside where Keef huddles under the spruce tree. 

It almost looks like a squirrel standing on its hind legs, with no tail to be seen. Its tiny wrists are decorated with delicate wooden bracelets that Keef wouldn’t even be able to fit his pinky finger through, and a belt lined with pouched wraps securely around her waist. Instead of an animal’s face, the creature watches the forest with deep brown human eyes set in a furry, female face. 

“I tell that boy to never return here and what does he do? He returns to the Fae realm with a friend and a foe. I tell you, this is why I never had children of my own. Too much frustration,” she grumbles in a high pitched voice not unlike the chirp of a chickadee.

Keef blinks owlishly at her, then glances back over his shoulder before he looks back at the small Faerie. “A-are you talking to me?”

The Faerie shrieks in alarm, jumping a solid foot in the air before looking around wildly. “Who’s there?!”

Keef mentally slaps himself.  _ Dib told me to be quiet and of course I fucked that up. _

“Uh, j-just me.”

The Faerie squints into the shadows where Keef crouches, brow furrowed in concentration before her face softens and her nose twitches. “Ah, you must have flipped your clothes inside out. You're hidden from Faerie eyes, but I smell you now. You are the fae-touched boy’s friend, are you not?”

“I think so? He hasn’t said we’re friends…”

The Faerie sniffs. “That boy and his terrible communication, I tell you. He considers you a friend, that much is certain, my dear.”

“O-oh, really?” Keef stammers, feeling his face heat up, “That’s good to know.”

After a few moments where the creature—a Brownie, Keef assumes—taps her foot with her slender arms crossed, she furrows her brow once more and mutters, “I can tell by your scent that you’re having a bit of trouble taking all this in, human child.”

“You can tell all that from what I smell like?”

The brownie barks out a harsh laugh. “I jest. I don’t need to see or smell you to know you’d rather be sitting at home staring at your moving-picture box and eating these “cheese puffs” Dib would not shut up about when I first saved him.”

Keef feels the pieces fall into place. “You’re Aed!”

“I am indeed!” she exclaims, puffing out her chest proudly, “The mighty Aed, who rescued the fae-touched human boy from the home of an Archfey in the dead of night!”

Keef is about to bombard the little creature with questions when a horrifying bellow sails through the silent trees. 

It’s a sound like nothing Keef’s ever heard before, a cacophony of at least a dozen tortured screams at various pitches that rend Keef’s head open and force him to slap his hands over his ears with a grimace. Even so, the sound rips through his head, hitting him with wave after wave of throbbing agony. 

When it’s over, Keef’s vision swims with stars and his head pulses with pain. His ears ring and he feels his left ear, the one closest to the sound, leaking hot, sticky blood. He wipes his bloody ear on the shoulder of his shirt. With a string of muttered curses, Keef shucks off his shirt and jacket, flips them the right way out once more, and replaces them over his torso. 

Now that Keef is visible to Fae eyes, Aed watches him curiously.

“What do you plan on doing, human boy?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out,” Keef replies, taking a step out from under the hollow.

A tiny hand grabs onto his pant leg, and while Keef could absolutely pull free of Aed’s grip, he doesn’t. Instead, he looks back to see the dainty little creature watching him with severity in her eyes. “You can’t go unless you’re prepared, my dear.” 

She scans the underbrush for a few seconds, before grabbing a few small twigs and pushing them into Keef’s hand. Then, she reaches into one of the pouches at her waist and withdraws a single iron nail wrapped in soft cloth. 

“Rowan branches, to prevent the Fae from following you home. And iron, should that fail. Use these well, my boy. And once you three are all safely back in the human realm, give Dib’s ass a good kicking for me. He broke his promise to never return here,” Aed explains brusquely before backing away with a knowing smirk.

“Thank you, Aed,” Keef says tentatively before shooting the Faerie a small smile, “I’ll be sure to give him a hell of a rough time for you.”

“See that you do. Oh, and one last thing.”

Keef blinks. “What’s that?”

“Do not give out your name or your inhuman companion’s name. Names hold an incomprehensible amount of power over an individual, and should your name fall into the wrong hands, you’ll suffer a fate worse than death. Dib knows all too well what it is for his name to be stolen.”

* * *

“What  _ are  _ you?!” Zim shouts, dodging erratically.

The beast is much faster than Zim would’ve guessed. It matches Zim’s speed and agility with ease and leaves small tears in his clothing with every attack. The wildly writhing branches don’t help either. They snag Zim’s PAK legs, clothing,  _ anything _ they can get a grip on.

_ This is bad! _

A massive talon grazes Zim’s left side. Droplets of bright magenta blood spray the neighbouring aspen trees. Zim winces. “Shit.” 

A rubbery branch grabs Zim by the leg mid-leap. The Invader shrieks as the force dislocates his knee and sends him crashing to the forest floor. He crouches in the grass, claws digging into the skin of his leg painfully. 

_ It seems I’m about to be slain because of a tree. A goddamn  _ **_tree._ **

The massive bird-beast lets out a horrifying bellow before swooping down. Claws outstretched, it dives for Zim. 

Just before its talons sink into Zim’s body, however, the trees redirect their branches and ensnare the bird. Zim’s eyes fly wide open. A twig snaps behind him and he feels one of his antennae twitch beneath his wig. 

_ I know those footsteps. _

“You look like shit, spaceboy.”

Zim glares over his shoulder to see Dib watching him with narrowed yellow eyes and a shit-eating smirk. Dark circles hang from his eyes and his skin looks pale and clammy, but Zim has to admit that the human boy looks significantly better than Zim does at the moment. Zim glares.

“As do you.”

Dib walks towards him with uncharacteristic confidence, and as Dib stops to stand at Zim’s side, Zim feels that familiar change in air pressure that he did earlier; the air pressure change that happened before an unseen force tossed him hundreds of metres with ease. Dib sighs, glaring up at the ensnared bird-monster. “How in the hell did you manage to piss off an  _ Ellén Trechend _ , let alone find one in the first place?”

Zim opens his mouth to shoot back a snarky response, but Dib interrupts briskly, “Guess I’m gonna have to reveal a little bit of myself if we wanna get out of here alive. But on one condition.”

“What condition?” Zim asks warily.

“I’ll reveal myself on the condition that you stop trying to study me like some lab rat. I’ll voluntarily let you study me if it’s on my terms. In exchange, I save your sorry ass and stop telling people you’re an alien. Sound good?” Dib explains without taking his eyes off the writhing bird.

Zim hisses. “You think you have any right to dictate what I study and how I do it?! Arrogant  _ worm—” _

“I could totally leave you here to be monster food, you know. I wouldn’t even feel bad about it.”

Zim weighs his options, sharp teeth worrying at his lower lip.

After a few heartbeats, he snarls in irritation.“ _ Fine,  _ whatever! Just kill the Tallest-damned thing already!”

Dib’s lips twitch like he wants to smirk again, then cracks his knuckles. “I’ll cover you if you go in for close-range attacks.”

“Don’t lecture me, fool. I am a trained sold—”

“Get your head out of your ass,” Dib snaps. “I  _ know  _ things about this realm that you never will. I just need you to distract it long enough for me to pin it down. Then, we run like the devil himself is after us. We can’t kill this thing, so we just need to chase it off. Got it?”

Zim starts as an eerie warmth envelops his wounded leg, then hisses as it somehow pops back into place. He rubs confusedly at his knee, knowing his body well enough to be certain that it wasn’t his PAK that healed him, before looking up and immediately feeling his heart stop.

Dib stands with his back to Zim, hands outstretched towards the bird as it screeches and wrenches itself free of the wild branches that entangled it. 

Large boulders and chunks of the ground split free of the earth to rise ominously into the air, circling the boy.

Zim swallows, feeling cold sweat roll down his neck. “Got it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took some time to come out! I was planning to upload it a fair while ago, but AO3 hit a bump or something and I was unable to log in for several days. 
> 
> Thanks again to Dramance for betaing this for me!
> 
> (also there's no need to worry too much about OCs, since I know a lot of people are iffy about them. Aed is only a supporting character on the side!)
> 
> Find me on [Instagram!](http://www.instagram.com/hitamory)


	7. friends of empty graves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took a while! I don't have a specific schedule so chapters are bound to have long pauses between them but all this quarantine stuff and life in general kinda beat both me and my beta reader Dramance into a fine paste haha,,, we're alright for now though so here's a new chapter from us for you to enjoy! 
> 
> Hope you guys like it!

The moment Dib lets his perception extend out around him, thousands of intertwining threads of life-energy make themselves known, singing an intricate melody in his head that resonates deep in his bones. The sounds are so numerous and tumultuous, Dib feels his head throb with the sheer force of it, but he opens his eyes and looks up at the bird tangled in the branches above him. 

Time seems to speed up then. 

Dib grabs onto the life-force coursing through the trees. At his tiniest mental command, the nearest aspens twist around to ensnare the bird again. A shriek cuts through the chilly dawn air like a blade. One of Dib’s eardrums bursts..

Despite their flexibility, the aspen trees snap when the bird twists. Leaves and twigs shower down from the canopy as Dib grits his teeth and forces more trees to grab it.

As Dib struggles, pneumatics hiss and gears whir behind him. He knows it’s Zim making the noise. He doesn’t dare take his concentration off of the Ellen Trechend. 

Zim shoots past Dib like a bullet, teeth bared. His PAK legs carry him swiftly into the trees, and he strikes. The bird howls and screeches, dodging branches and steel legs wildly. Dib catches one of the bird’s wings in a tangle of flailing branches. Blood-red sunlight flashes on metal as a PAK leg hits its target. 

Quicksilver blood paints the stark white trees.

The bird moves with increased ferocity, enraged by the wound. Dib catches a talon before it can strike Zim. Zim knocks a falling branch aside to stop it from hitting Dib. The two of them work as though sharing one mind. Dib would find it eerie if he were less focused.

The bird snaps another tree. Dib reaches for another… and finds none. The bird’s destroyed all the nearest trees.

 _“Shit!”_ Dib hisses.

For a moment, he hesitates to use his backup plan. He’s not used this specific method on such a scale in years. He’s not sure he’ll be able to control it. But then, he sees a beak graze Zim’s shoulder and makes his decision.

He may not like Zim, but he doesn’t want the Invader dead.

Dib takes a deep breath… and siphons the energy of everything in a ten foot radius. The grass beneath his feet turns to ash as his veins light up cyan. The ground rumbles ominously before cracking. Chunks of the ground rise up, enveloped in a wispy blue haze.

Dib braces himself before shouting, “ _Get back!”_

Zim glances over his shoulder briefly and does a double-take. Dib makes a throwing motion with his arm. Zim launches out of the way at the same moment a car-sized boulder slams into the bird. A scream rises into the air as one of its heads makes a sickening crunch. Zim hits the ground next to Dib, flat on his back. The alien wheezes as his full weight hits his PAK.

The bird is launched sideways. It knocks down several trees as Dib braces himself again. He shifts his footing, ash scuffing up around his boots. The bird tries righting itself. Dib lets out a savage shout and makes a sweeping motion with his left arm. Trees near the bird crack and topple down on it. The circle of dead plants extends out from around Dib, and a thin stream of blood runs from his nose to his chin. 

He coughs, his vision blurring. Dib is reaching his limit… but he doesn’t hesitate when the bird tries to stand once more. He extends a hand, ripping the energy from anything he can and forcing it out violently. The earth beneath the bird splits open to swallow it up. 

Dib doesn’t have the chance to close up the rift before he retches blood and collapses.

* * *

Zim’s chest heaves with ragged pants as Dib collapses next to him. Glowing, blue blood leaks from the human boy’s nose, mouth, and ears, and Zim can’t help but feel a bit of panic. Why he’s worried, he doesn’t know, but he’s certain he doesn’t want Dib dead. With a string of curses muttered in both English and Irken, Zim scrambles to Dib’s side and hoists the shivering boy over his shoulders. 

As Zim starts running, he glares at Dib’s lolling head and snaps, “You owe Zim _massively_ for this _,_ Dib-shit.”

Dib groans in reply.

The Invader doesn’t know exactly _what_ happened, but he knows that he saw Dib do things he’s never seen on any planet before. Throwing things without touching them as flora and fauna alike crumbled and died at his feet. Zim’s mind replays the image of an antlered rabbit falling dead behind Dib and crumbling into nothing more than a skeleton as the human boy remains completely oblivious to it. 

The concept of gods and the supernatural is nothing more than fickle ideology to Irkens. A silly belief system belonging to lesser races. But Zim feels like he just saw something beyond logic, reason, and reality. He caught a glimpse of something _raw_ and much larger than himself, than the entire Irken Armada, manifested in the shape of a lanky teenage human. The very human that’s currently slung over his shoulders, staining Zim’s jacket blue with his eerie, turquoise blood, and taking shaky, pained breaths.

_How hasn’t he killed me yet?_

Zim stares at the ground rushing past his feet.

_I’ve been messing with something incomprehensibly dangerous for so long._

Cold sweat rolls down his neck. 

_Dib could kill me in an instant._

He stops moving.

_Why has he spared me?_

“...Zim..?” Dib croaks, snapping Zim out of his stupor.

Zim glances sideways to see Dib watching him with exhausted yet confused eyes. After coughing up a few more pitiful drops of blood, Dib asks, “Why didn’t you leave me there? I thought you… I thought you wanted me dead, or something.”

“Foolish boy,” Zim hisses, breaking into a jog once more, “Only _Zim_ is allowed to end your pathetic human life! I refuse to let some filthy rat-bird-beast devour you unless it is _my_ rat-bird-beast!”

Dib lets out a shaky wheeze, probably meant to be some sort of laugh. “Thanks, I guess.” 

“Save your praise for when we get out of this hell-forest.”

“Sure.”

As Zim hops over a slough bottom, however, his antennae twitch under his wig. His head snaps to his right, PAK whirring in preparation for another attack… but instead of a hostile monster, he finds himself looking at the dirt-streaked face of Keef. Upon meeting each other’s eyes, Keef’s own narrow into mistrustful green slits and he clambers over a fallen log to stand a short distance from Zim. His eyes slide from Zim to settle on Dib, before returning to Zim again.

“What did you do?” Keef says flatly, although Zim can detect hints of animosity underneath his tone.

Zim clicks his tongue. “I did nothing, smelly Skool-worm. This bloody idiot got _himself_ into this mess.”

“Y-yeah, that was all me,” Dib coughs, “Zim dragged me away from the monster.”

“ _Monster?!”_ Keef splutters incredulously.

Before the redhead can say anything more, Zim adjusts Dib with an irritated hiss and snaps, “Enough blabbering! If I stay in this filthy, twisted dimension much longer, I’ll go mad and eat the Dib’s gargantuan head!”

Keef’s eyes glitter with alarm and Zim doesn’t miss the way his hands clench into fists. Zim blinks slowly. 

_The Keef does not take a joke as well as Dib-beast does._

“I… I can guide us out. Gimme a second-” Dib starts, but Zim jostles the boy hard enough for him to fall limp again with a pained groan. 

“You will do _nothing_ of the sort! Your weak, wormy self will fall dead if you take a single step, and I told you already that _Zim_ is the only one who is allowed to kill you!” Zim snarls, teeth snapping barely a hair’s width from Dib’s ear. Dib cringes away from the gnashing fangs.

“Yeah, Dib, we can figure a way out-”

“No, you can’t.” Dib says, head still hanging down over Zim’s shoulder, “That’s the point. The Fae realm can only be navigated by Fae and anything Fae-touched. You guys won’t be able to escape. We’ll be trapped here if I don’t…” Dib trails off. More eerily-glowing blood drips from Dib’s face to splash the leaf litter below.

And as much as Zim wants to argue, to loudly proclaim that he’s _Zim,_ the greatest Irken Invader ever, he has to admit that Dib has a point. If this realm is specifically designed to ensnare anything that isn’t part of it, then not even a trained Irken soldier like Zim himself will be able to escape. He hisses sourly.

The bird monster bellows hauntingly, its wail echoing off the silent aspens, and Keef and Zim cease their arguing in favor of running for cover.

* * *

Slung over Zim’s shoulders, body thoroughly beaten, Dib tries raising his head to look at Keef. Despite his valiant efforts, however, his body defies him and he finds himself once again slumped in Zim’s grasp with the only thing in his view being Zim’s boots and the ground rushing past. Dib shudders, suppressing a groan as pain once again radiates down his spine into his limbs and head. 

“Stop your pitiful twitching, human!” Zim snaps, raising his voice over the approaching sound of the Ellen Trechend’s hunting call, “Do you want Zim to drop you?!”

In a tiny act of defiance towards his nemesis-turned-reluctant-ally, Dib sniffs roughly before spitting blue-tinged snot and saliva directly on Zim’s sweater. The Invader shrieks in disgust and grabs Dib’s ear. “You are playing a _very_ dangerous game, Dib-stink _.”_

Dib lets himself fall limp, once again at the mercy of his body’s rejection response. A few moments later, he mutters through gritted teeth, “Oh, I’m _sorry,_ I thought I was allowed to feel pain after literally almost killing myself to save _your_ ungrateful ass, you rabid, Kermit-the-Frog wannabe.”

Zim growls something in Irken. Dib’s about 99% sure it pertains to him. 

“Can you two _shut the fuck up?!”_ Keef hisses, taking both Dib and Zim by surprise, “In case you forgot, we are _literally_ running for our lives right now! And you guys bitching nonstop isn’t helping lose the monster!”

Dib can’t really argue with that logic. After all, despite his fairly nihilistic outlook on life and the world, he’d rather stay alive and die of old age than get mauled and eaten by an ugly-as-sin fae monster. Zim must have come to the same conclusion, because he doesn’t complain anymore.

At the same moment, they burst through a clump of alders and find themselves standing in a marsh. 

The grass towers a good foot over Zim and Keef’s heads, and a thick wall of willow and briar surrounds the small marsh, but that doesn’t help the fact that the three boys feel dangerously exposed. Dib seizes again. Zim doesn’t comment. 

Keef and Zim turn sharply, about to dart back under the cover of the trees, but freeze when a massive silhouette blocks out the sun in the murky green sky. Out of instinct, Zim and Keef drop to the ground. They sit huddled in the tall reeds, scarcely breathing at all as they stare at the Ellen Trechend’s silhouette landing about fifty metres away. 

The Invader carefully sets Dib down between himself and Keef. Now, with a view of the gloomy sky, Dib can tilt his head in the direction of the bird. 

Outlined by a haunting grey sun, the Ellen Trechend stalks slowly through the forest. Its three heads swivel constantly, and its bulging eyes glow solid white through the thick morning fog. The sight reminds Dib of searchlights, and he tries to flatten himself down further. The ground against Dib’s back shudders with every purposeful step it takes, and Dib’s heart races. 

The marsh is humid, and DIb can’t tell if he’s sweating nervously or if he’s just clammy from the air, but he’s pretty sure it’s the former. He strains his ears, desperately wanting to use his powers to sense the monster’s energy. As tempting as it is, he decides against it; he’s not sure how much more his body can take before he damages himself irreversibly. 

Once again, Dib’s blood turns to molten lead, and he can’t stop the choked noise that escapes him. Zim slaps a hand over Dib’s mouth, yanking off his wig at the same time. 

“Do you want to give us away?!” the Invader hisses.

Dib resists the urge to bite Zim’s hand. Thankfully though, Keef reaches over to pull Zim’s hand away from Dib’s face and whispers an explanation. “I don’t know how it is for aliens, but humans tend to make noise when they’re in excruciating pain. Dib’s probably in a lot of pain right now.”

Zim flicks his wrist, dislodging Keef’s grip before removing his contacts. “Zim knows about _pain,_ filthy worm! But the Dib should shut up-”

The redhead’s hardly opened his mouth to shoot back a reply when a tree cracks nearby. An eerie groan cuts through the fog, and Keef and Zim shrink down around Dib. Hardly a second later, an ancient pine tree crashes down on the marsh less than ten feet from the trio.

A massive, decayed-looking bird head rises above the marsh, followed by two more. Reeds crackle and protest beneath gargantuan talons as the Ellen Trechen steps closer. 

It huffs as though sniffing the air, then all three heads turn slowly, eerily, to focus on the three boys cowering in the tall grass. Zim’s PAK hums, but when a PAK leg tries to rise from it, all that come out are sparks. 

_That fall earlier must’ve damaged his PAK,_ Dib thinks to himself in dismay.

“Son of a-” Zim spits.

The colossal bird must sense their hopelessness, because it takes its time in approaching. With leisurely steps, it curves its three beaks into smiles, revealing what appear to be sets of hauntingly human teeth. Despite their ghastly white glow, the bird’s eyes are black holes, empty of soul and life. Dib feels his molten blood turn to ice.

_This is how we die, then._

He grits his teeth.

_I’m not going down without a fight. Screw that._

Dib narrows his eyes, using all his strength to push himself into a seated position. He meets the Ellen Trechend’s hollow gaze, holding it for several heartbeats before speaking in a tongue that sends electricity up and down his throat.

**_“ ********** ”_ **

To anyone other than those with a connection to the Fae, it would have sounded like Dib was speaking underwater, voice fluctuating between various pitches and crackling in and out of hearing range like a faulty radio. To those of the Fae realm, however, it forms coherent speech.

**_“I'd like to make a deal.”_ **

The bird stops, and Dib’s skin pricks at the sensation of Zim and Keef staring at him. He’s aware that this is a sight his companions never expected, and they likely have dozens of questions for him, but he keeps his eyes trained on the Ellen Trechend and waits for its response. 

Finally, it speaks in a low, ragged dialect.

**_“Small creature, why ally with beings of the Other Side? They do naught but destroy and take.”_ **

**__ **

Dib coughs and replies sternly, **_“That is none of your concern. I have a proposition for you.”_ **

**_“Speak, then. I hunger for blood, and I am not a patient being.”_ **

**_“Understood,”_ ** Dib acknowledges with a curt nod, **_“In exchange for a simple answer to a simple question, I offer you these two Other Side dwellers.”_ **

The bird narrows its hollow eyes. **_“What is the catch?”_ **

Dib curses internally. The Fae language is incapable of fabricating lies, and as such, Dib needs to be as careful with his words as possible. 

**_“Catch? There is none. The only conditions are that, should you answer my question wrong, myself and my companions are to be set free,”_ ** Dib replies innocently, **_“Is it a crime to take a gamble when the rewards may be so great?”_ **

**_“Truer words have scarcely been uttered,”_ ** the bird remarks.

Despite the hesitation clear in the ruffling of its feathers, it’s swayed by the offer of blood sacrifice and salivates acid that burns the reeds below it. **_“I accept your terms, half-dweller. Ask your question.”_ **

With a nod, Dib reaches into the pocket of his coat and withdraws a tiny bag of salt. Slowly, purposefully, he pours it out on a dry patch of dirt in front of him. Once he’s done, he meets the Ellen Trechend’s eyes.

**_“How many grains of salt do I have?”_ **

The bird immediately bares its human teeth, looming over Dib as the teenager meets its hostile gaze calmly. **_“YOU FILTHY BRAT! I REFUSE TO ANSWER SUCH A LUDICROUS QUESTION!”_ **

**_“Ah, but you made a deal with me. And if I learned anything from my time living among you, it is that broken deals result in dishonor, and with dishonor comes death.”_ **

The bird holds its gaping maw over Dib, close enough that should he stand up, it could bite him in half. Hot, rancid breath stinking of carrion hits Dib like a sledgehammer. For a few heartbeats, Dib is certain he’s about to be eaten. But, after what feels like an eternity, the bird snarls viciously and sets itself down in front of the three boys. 

With a massive claw, the Ellen Trechend starts on its impossible task. Dib almost wants to laugh at the absurdity of it all, seeing a man-eating monster trying to count individual grains of salt, but he suppresses the urge and turns to shoot Zim and Keef a reassuring look. As expected, they just stare back at him in confusion.

By the time the bird finishes counting the small pile of salt in front of it, the sun has dropped low in the murky sky once more. Baring its teeth in an unnerving grin, the Ellen Trechend cackles and sneers, **_“Nine hundred forty-three grains of salt.”_ **

Finally, Dib lets a haunting grin spread across his face from ear to ear. **_“Incorrect.”_ **

**_“What?!”_ ** the beast howls, scanning the grass once again for any stray grains before glaring at Dib, **_“What is the correct answer?”_ **

**_“Zero.”_ **

**_“How-?!”_ **

Dib jerks his chin in the direction of the salt. **_“That isn’t salt. It’s coarse sugar. I have nine hundred forty-three grains of sugar, and zero grains of salt.”_ **

For a short time, the Ellen Trechend stares at Dib in shock. Its bulging eyes dim from brilliant searchlight-white to a pale yellow-white glow as it tries to process how it could’ve been tricked. The sun dips below the horizon, and two moons shine brilliantly down on the mutilated marsh before the creature finally rises to its feet. 

**_“As humiliating as it is to admit, I have been bested by you, half-dweller. You may leave.”_ **

**_“I appreciate your honor in upholding the terms. I will be sure to repay you.”_ **

**_“Do not patronize me,”_ ** The Ellen Trechend hisses before spreading its huge wings, **_“I have no need for your pathetic offering.”_ **

Then, without another word, it rises into the sky and vanishes over the trees. 

An awkward silence hangs over the marsh before Zim breaks it with a shout of, “Why didn’t you just do that in the _first place,_ you stink-riddled idiot?!”

Somehow, Zim’s outburst dissipates the adrenaline that kept Dib going through the entire exchange, and exhaustion hits him with the force of a tsunami. He wobbles in place for a few seconds before collapsing flat on his back once more. 

“Don’ wanna talk about it…” he slurs before he slips into unconsciousness.

* * *

Keef and Zim don’t speak at all after that whole debacle. 

They just wander aimlessly through the endless forest, hoping desperately for some sign that they’re getting closer to home. So far, in the hour they’ve been slogging, no such luck comes their way.

Zim stops unexpectedly, and Keef almost bumps into his back when he does. Keef opens his mouth to ask what’s wrong, but the words escape him when he follows Zim’s ruby gaze. 

Standing at the base of a nearby oak is Aed.

At the sight of Zim, she chuckles heartily. 

“What an odd little beast you are!” she chirps, and Keef’s certain that had the Invader not been carrying Dib, Zim would have immediately stabbed her.

Zim opens his mouth, probably to shoot back a snarky retort, but Aed speaks first, “I will guide you back to the Other Side. But seeing as I am exhausted with having to bail Dib here out of Fae-related situations, I refuse to guide you home again. Am I clear?”

Aed drops to all fours and starts tearing away through the forest. The sun is rising once again, but Keef hardly acknowledges the time. He’s too busy following the glow of Zim’s PAK as he races after Aed. Keef stumbles. Zim curses and grabs the redhead by his shirt. 

“Stupid clumsy humans with their stupid clumsy feet! So irritating!” Zim grumbles to himself, and Keef almost laughs at the contradiction between his words and actions.

Zim carries Dib and Keef through the ghostly forest right up until Aed stops at the base of a twisted oak with a large hole in its trunk. Zim drops Keef, and probably would’ve dropped Dib too had he not been in his current state.

“This is not the smelly earth-city!” Zim grumbles, and receives a disdainful hum from Aed in reply.

“No, but this gateway…” she gestures to the hole in the trunk, “...will take you there.”

Keef cranes his neck to peer inside the hole. 

Despite supposedly being a ‘gateway’, all Keef sees is the inside of the hollow tree, complete with termites. He shudders. Aed must notice his reaction, because she barks out a laugh and says, “You won’t be able to see the other side until you pass through the gate.”

Behind Keef, Zim makes a disgusted sound. The alien brusquely shoves Keef aside to jam his entire head in the hole. “Are those termites? Zim is _not-”_

“Thank you for volunteering as tribute, Katniss,” Keef remarks loudly, a shit-eating grin on his face as he shoves Zim into the hole without warning, “May the odds be ever in your favor.”

With one final smile in Aed’s direction, Keef hops into the hole as well. The ground disappears below him, and Keef feels his stomach leap into his throat as he twists in midair to try righting himself.

Thankfully, he, Dib, and Zim only fall about five feet, emerging from a tangled mat of elm branches. Zim hits the ground first, followed ungracefully by Keef. Somehow, Dib’s unconscious body is the last to fly out of the tree, where it lands flat across Zim’s gut. The Invader lets out a loud wheeze as the wind is knocked out of him. 

For a minute, Keef and Zim don’t move. They remain flat on the ground like that for an indeterminate amount of time.

Finally, Zim clears his throat and rises to his feet, dragging Dib with him. Once he’s draped the human over his shoulders once more, he glances to Keef and says, “Come. My base has tools well-equipped for treating the Dib’s weak, squishy worm-body.”

“You really think I’ll trust you after you, like, put mind-controlling face implants in me? Yeah, screw you,” Keef retorts, nose scrunched in disgust.

Zim glances over his shoulder, ruby eyes narrowed into glowing slits. “You do not exactly have a choice in the matter, as I am taking the Dib with me and you tend to follow the Dib like a clingy smeet.”

_What the hell is a smeet?_

“I… guess you’re right…” Keef says slowly, “...but don’t expect me to take any of your shit without a fight. Not this time.”

“Fine, fine, whatever! Just shut up with your flappy little mouth!”

As Keef speeds up to match Zim’s pace, he finds that Zim seems… somewhat mellow compared to the Zim who’d kidnapped him several days prior. There’s something _off_ about the alien Invader, something that Keef can’t quite put his finger on. He’s unsure of whether it’s a good or bad thing, this “off” feeling, but he supposes he can take a chance and bet on it being the former.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find us here!
> 
> [Hita's Tumblr](http://www.hitas-stuff.tumblr.com)
> 
> [Hita's Instagram](http://www.instagram.com/hitamory)
> 
> [Hita's Twitter](https://twitter.com/hitamory)
> 
> [Dramance's Tumblr](http://dramancewrite.tumblr.com)
> 
> [Dramance's Twitter](https://twitter.com/_Dramance)


	8. singing songs to the secrets behind my eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW for referenced child abuse, horror-themed imagery, mentions of past abuse, and discussions of trauma**

Gaz’s head snaps up from her game at 4 am.

Dark amber eyes sweep the room, lingering on shadows and hidden-away corners as the darkness of the night outside presses in. She slowly shuts the screen of her GameSlave. 

For a time, she sits perfectly still on the couch, the scent of microwave popcorn still lingering in the air as she merely observes. As she scans the room, her eyes slowly slip over to the window, and the blackness beyond. 

Gaz stares into the inky night for what could’ve been an eternity or no time at all, but in that time, she starts to see shapes moving against the shadowy hedges outside. She blinks slowly. 

For a heartbeat, something pauses in front of the window before vanishing. 

Igniting the fire in her core, Gaz rises to her feet and stalks for the back door. Despite the lights in the house having been off the entire night, Gaz sees the halls as clear as day. Her feet scarcely make a sound as she moves, the only indication of her presence being the vague scent of burning propane. She opens the door and steps guardedly onto the back step.

As she silently shuts the door, she momentarily averts her eyes from the outside world. When she turns back, something stares back from the abyssal blackness.

Two impossibly large, unnervingly human eyes meet hers.

Gaz’s fingers tighten around the knob of the screen door. She dares not break eye contact. 

Forcing her voice not to quaver, she speaks in a hostile growl, “Who are you?”

**_“ ***** “_ **

Gaz’s eyes widen marginally. This creature is of the Fae. She clears her throat and switches from English to the Fae language.

**_“Who are you, and what are you doing in this realm?”_ **

The creature doesn’t move as it replies,  **_“Where is your kin, half-dweller?”_ **

**_“Don’t deflect my question. Answer mine and perhaps I’ll answer yours.”_ **

An animalistic growl rumbles from the creature.  **_“Very well. I am a goblin, and I am searching for the half-dweller who abandoned his Archfey. His scent was once again picked up in our realm and the Archfey wants his underling collected.”_ **

Gaz narrows her eyes, amber igniting into a fiery gold.  **_“Not on your worthless life.”_ **

The creature steps closer. Gaz stokes the fire in her veins, channeling it out her limbs to dance ominously in her palms. Orange firelight illuminates the creature’s face, revealing a grotesque visage with a mouth too wide for its skull, several rows of rotting, jagged teeth, and greasy, wrinkled skin. 

The creature hisses, and its pointed, jet-black nails glint in the light.

Gaz strikes first.

* * *

**TWO HOURS EARLIER**

Deep in the bowels of Zim’s base, Keef sits on the floor. The cold metal of the wall he sits slouched against chills him to the bone, but he doesn’t move. Instead, he keeps his eyes fixated on Zim as the Irken works swiftly over Dib’s unconscious form. Even when Zim’s crazed little robot toddles over to play with Keef’s unruly red hair, Keef doesn’t move.

Time passes slowly yet impossibly fast, exhaustion tugging at Keef’s eyelids like lead weights, and he fights to keep his eyes open. 

Despite his efforts, he must’ve dozed off at some point, because the next thing he notices is a clawed hand shaking his shoulder. With a deep inhale, Keef opens his eyes to see Zim kneeling in front of him. 

Once Keef is awake, Zim lowers his hand and mumbles, “The Dib has been healed. Most of his injuries were internal, and the pig-smelly will have to rest, but until he is… in fighting condition once more, I will hold a temporary truce with you both. Be grateful to your merciful future overlord!”

Keef blinks a few times to clear the grogginess from his eyes, then shrugs. “Thanks.”

“Your appreciation is noted! I will remember your gratitude when I conquer your pitiful planet!”

Seemingly satisfied with Keef’s thanks, Zim rises to his feet and turns on his heel. The Irken strides proudly over to where Dib lies on a sterile examination table, then hoists the human boy into his arms. Once he’s stabilized himself, Zim snaps his head around to glance at Keef. “Come, Keef-rat! The more time you waste on the floor, the longer I need to wait to fight the Dib!”

Keef can’t find it in himself to care about Zim’s dubious reasons for helping, but he stands up nonetheless. He follows Zim through the labyrinthian tunnels that make up the alien’s base in a sleep-deprived stupor, and he doesn’t quite process most of the journey back above ground. 

He only regains awareness of his surroundings once he flops down on an old mattress in the middle of the living room floor, and even then, it’s only a vague awareness. All he truly detects are the rhythmic breaths coming from where Zim places Dib on the couch, the vague stink of mothballs and stale cheetos wafting off the mattress, and the hum of electricity whirring through the base like a living pulse.

It doesn’t take long for him to slip into the welcome release of sleep.

* * *

_ Dib is running. _

_ It seems like he’s always running. _

_ Perhaps he’ll still be running when Death comes knocking at his doorstep. He’ll likely be running when he’s finally cut down, his damning, blue blood seeping back into the earth as maggots and ravens tear at his rotting carcass. _

_ As he runs, he catches glimpses of silver hair, of marble eyes, of ivory claws, flanking him through the mute trees. Despite how his lungs heave and burn, he seems to be running nearly in place, advancing by measly inches instead of metres. _

_ He trips. _

_ Before he hits the grassy forest floor, the ground below him morphs into intricate hardwood, polished to a mirrorlike finish. He catches himself on hands marred with infected, bloody wounds. As he raises his head, he finds himself in a horrible yet familiar place. _

_ A quaint house built out of living trees, decorated with flowers and beadwork that make it look deceptively cozy. Dib knows that this is a mere ruse, a loving exterior hiding a bloodstained, hellish interior. He rises to his feet, but stumbles when he finds his ankles shackled to the wall.  _

_ He is no longer a teen, but a scared young child hugging his baby sister to his chest.  _

_ His wounds ache, red and blue streams of ghostly ichor pulsing from every single scrape and laceration that mars his tiny body. As he stares at the technicolor blood draining from his flesh, the liquid morphs into hundreds of black centipedes, creeping out from his wounds. Despite himself, Dib screams and tries shaking the creeping bugs off.  _

**_“ ***** “_ **

_ Dib freezes. _

_ A shadow akin to the husk of a dying tree falls over him and Gaz from the doorway. Eyes like chips of blue flint glimmer from the inky black silhouette of a Fae. The room twists, walls becoming floor, floor becoming ceiling, ceiling becoming walls. The furniture now litters the walls and ceiling, and it contorts as though turning to stare at Dib and the tiny girl in his arms.  _

_ The Fae draws nearer. _

_ Dib scrambles back to press against the wall. _

_ Outside, the sky bleeds crimson and black. _

_ Elegant boots click against the hardwood. _

_ Dib opens his mouth to speak, to beg for forgiveness, to offer anything that’ll stave off whatever punishment the Fae will inflict on him. He’s not even sure what it is that upset the Fae, but he  _ knows _ something is wrong. He tries to plead with the Fae, but his voice fails him. All that leaves his mouth is a stream of turquoise blood. _

_ The Fae is towering over him now. The sky bleeds through the ceiling. Trees outside the house turn from wood to living, pulsing flesh. Eyes and teeth and teeth and eyes all point in Dib’s direction. _

_ Gaz turns to sand in Dib’s arms. The young boy lets out a wail of despair, curling his body around the sand as the Fae raises a clawed hand. He knows there’s nothing that can be done to save his sister now, she’s sand after all, but he still tries to shield what’s left of her from the monster looming over him.  _

_ Dib screams. _

_ _

* * *

It’s 4 in the morning, and Zim’s in the middle of playing Animal Crossing on GIR’s console-device when the Dib lets out a bloodcurdling wail.

Zim flinches as Keef bolts awake from his place on GIR’s mattress, hair plastered to the side of his head. The pair stare at Dib for a few heartbeats, trying to process what’s happening. Then, Zim’s wide red eyes fixate on Keef as the redhead crawls rapidly across the floor to kneel beside where Dib lies on the couch. 

The dark-haired boy flails wildly, eyes scrunched tightly closed as he screams out disjointed words in the Fae language that Zim’s PAK struggles to translate. Clear liquid runs from the boy’s eyes, staining his face, and the veins in his hands begin to glow blue. Zim startles when some of the furniture begins to rise into the air.

Keef reaches out as if to touch Dib, hesitates, then lowers his hand. Instead, he makes noises Zim recognizes as “soothing” ones and calls Dib’s name softly. It takes some time for Dib to pick up on Keef’s soft voice, but when he does, his cries subside into quiet sobs. Finally, Keef reaches out and gently cradles Dib’s face in his hands. His thumbs rub rhythmically over the crying boy’s scarred face, and he continues making those gentle, shushing noises. 

Finally, Zim’s PAK manages to translate the phrases Dib had been crying out.

**_“I’m sorry!”_ **

**_“I didn’t mean to!”_ **

**_“Please forgive me!”_ **

**_“Don’t touch me!”_ **

**_“Please don’t hurt me.”_ **

Something about those words makes Zim’s squeedlyspooch churn with nausea. He swallows back the bitter taste of bile, clearing his throat to hide his surge of emotion, and watches as Keef carefully comforts Dib.

Dib’s eyes open, revealing glowing golden irises ringed with blue and pink. The sight is fascinating, but Zim doesn’t make any comment on it. Now is not the time. Instead, he studies how Keef comforts Dib, in the case that Zim himself ever finds himself in Keef’s position. 

_ Why am I worried about helping the Dib?  _ Zim catches himself thinking,  _ We are bitter enemies, the greatest Invader and the enigma of a Defender. We only wish to see the other destroyed. _

But something doesn’t sit well with Zim when he tries to connect his thoughts to the crying boy before him. 

_...we are both adolescents from our respective species, but he has not undergone rigorous training from smeethood like I have.  _

Zim chews the inside of his cheek. 

_ Has he ever truly gone out of his way to harass me recently?  _

The Invader’s PAK picks up on his silent lamentation, and Zim cringes as the device works to drown out his thoughts with Irken propaganda. His teeth grind against one another. He’s not sure what’s the right thing to do, and what he  _ should _ do. On one hand, he doesn’t want to betray his empire by acting on the thoughts of a Defective. On the other…

Zim swallows hard. 

Something about the way Dib curls into himself makes Zim shift uncomfortably. It’s… too vulnerable. Too familiar. 

His PAK is loud.

Zim shakes his head to clear it. 

_ I am not defective. I am not a traitor.  _

Zim moves towards Dib and Keef.

_ But I make my own decisions. _

* * *

Keef frowns when Dib chokes out another string of words in that weird language of his. The redhead’s fluent in multiple languages- he’ll take extra credit classes wherever he can- and he’s good at recognizing a language even if he doesn’t speak it himself, but this language is strange and otherworldly in nature. Dib’s voice crackles like an old radio when he speaks, and that makes it even harder to decipher than it already is. The closest-sounding language to whatever Dib is speaking might be Latin, but too many words are just a bit too “off” to be the language itself. 

Despite his confusion, Keef meets Dib’s wide, panicked eyes calmly and speaks in a gentle tone. “You’re safe. It’s alrigh-”

“No, the Fae did not follow us,” Zim interrupts out of nowhere, and Keef snaps his head around to stare at the Irken in shock as he continues, “My base is outfitted with the latest in Irken defensive technology, and the proximity alarms will sound if any creature steps within twenty-five metres of the building. It is safe.”

Keef’s jaw drops. “Y-you can understand-”

“Of course Zim can understand! My PAK translates any language!” Zim snaps.

Before Keef can shoot back a snarky reply, Dib speaks again, “  **_*******. **** ****** ****** ***** **?”_ **

“Yes, Zim promises. And Irkens never go back on their word when they give it,” Zim says with a curt nod.

Dib swallows hard. Then, he returns to speaking in hoarse English. 

“C-can you guys… can you ward the base?” Golden eyes flick towards the windows momentarily. “I, um, it’ll make me feel...safer.”

Keef glances over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at Zim in a silent challenge. The redhead isn’t sure if Zim will accept Dib’s request, even with the emerald scowl Keef fixates him with, but relief surges through him when the Invader shrugs. “Very well. Tell Zim the ways of your “warding” nonsense.”

Dib explains in a small, broken voice, but thankfully Zim’s sensitive antennae pick up on the words Keef’s ears can’t catch. The Invader dips his head in acknowledgement, pokes Keef roughly in the shoulder, then starts for the kitchen. Keef casts one last worried look at Dib before rising to his feet and following Zim. 

As the pair approach the kitchen, Dib gently lowers the furniture he’d unconsciously lifted with his powers. The heavy items hardly make a whisper as he puts them back in their proper places. Keef continues to the kitchen.

Zim’s PAK hums to life, the pink lights shifting aside as the spiderlike metal legs extend out from the device. With an intrigued expression, Keef watches as Zim uses those lethal weapons to ever-so-delicately reach up, pull open a high cupboard, and pull out a box of salt. The cupboard is gently pushed shut, the legs place the salt in Zim’s hands, then reach for more items the Invader wants. 

It’s an odd thing to think about: the fact that those spider-legs have likely caused hundreds of deaths, yet they’re also dextrous enough for everyday use. Keef lets out a quiet breath. 

_ He could’ve killed me a thousand times over in all the time we’ve known each other. I wonder why he hasn’t just done that already… _

“What are you staring at, Keef-rat?” Zim’s brusque question snaps Keef out of his introspection. 

With a tired smile, Keef replies, “Just your PAK legs. They’re really cool.”

The Invader freezes with his back to Keef, so the redhead can’t see his expression, but Keef is almost certain the alien is blushing in embarrassment. After a few heartbeats, Zim continues rifling through his cupboards. “Of course they’re cool! All Irken technology is cool!”

Keef chuckles quietly, which earns him a scowl from Zim, but the human boy approaches the alien nonetheless. Thankfully, Zim doesn’t seem to take offense to this. Instead, he silently hands Keef a few of the items in his hands. 

_ He’s accepting help from me, _ Keef thinks to himself,  _ He must be in a decent mood. _

Before Keef can lament on that too much, Zim’s voice pulls him back to reality once more. 

“Why did the Dib scream like that? When he awoke, that is.”

Keef turns to Zim in surprise. In all the short time Keef’s known the Irken, he’s never heard Zim speak in such a quiet, meek tone. It’s almost like he’s  _ concerned _ . 

Almost like he wants to know how to help.

Keef lowers his gaze to focus on the items in his arms. “I… don’t know how it is for Irkens, since you guys have those PAK things to regulate your emotions and stuff, but humans… humans can have their own brain turn on them.”

“Eh?” Zim grunts, glancing sideways at Keef.

“You see… if a human is put through something terrible, like war, or a disaster, or abuse, or something, their brain will do anything to protect itself. Even if that means going into overdrive at the faintest sign of a threat.”

The Irken shuts the cupboard with a hum. “That seems like the logical thing to do.”

Keef nods. “You’d think so, but what if a human was conditioned to associate a certain footstep weight with being yelled at or beaten?”

“I suppose… the human would have a fearful reaction if their brain perceived a non-threat as similar to the previous threat. But I fail to see how this pertains to the Dib’s-”

“You know how human dreams work, right?”

Zim squints. “Yes, I go to human Hi-Skool.”

“Dib was exposed to the Fae realm again, which is the source of his trauma. So his brain went into overdrive and replayed some of his bad memories as dreams. That’s why he screamed- he re-lived the horrible experience he went through.”

Zim pauses. His red eyes glimmer with dawning realization. “I see.”

“Yeah.”

“You know, Keef-rat,” Zim starts tentatively as the metal legs retract into the PAK, “Zim may understand this irritating phenomena more than you expect.”

Unfortunately, Keef has very little time to process that bombshell. Hardly a second passes before there’s an urgent knock at the door. Zim narrows his red eyes and stomps towards the door with various knick-knacks still piled high in his arms.

“Who in the Tallest-damned  _ cosmos _ is here at such an unholy hour,” he grumbles, carelessly shoving his wig over his antennae and opening the door a crack, “Zim has Pink-Eye, what do you filthy earth-rats wa-.”

The door is forcefully kicked open, smacking Zim in the face and making him squawk in alarm. The Invader holds the place where a human’s nose should be on his face, and Keef widens his eyes when he sees Dib’s younger sister Gaz walk through the door. She slams it behind her, latches all seven of the locks on Zim’s door, and glares around the room.

She looks rough. Her face and arms are littered with wounds, her hair’s a rat’s nest, and the sleeves of her grey and blue t-shirt have been burned away up to the elbows. And over it all, the smell of burning hair and propane stifles the room. 

“Gaz?” Dib says, voice rough from his earlier panic attack, “What hap-”

“A goblin turned up at the house looking for you and I killed it. Nasty little prick,” the purple-haired girl growls sourly, “Dad left for some work emergency thing after dinner so we’re on our own right now. But I have a question.”

“Yeah?”

Gaz stomps up to stand in front of Dib, arms folded over her chest. “What the  _ hell _ were you thinking, going back to the Fae Realm?! That douchey old Archfey picked up your scent and now he’s looking for you again! _ ” _

“Explain this “Archfey” to Zim!” Zim shouts from where he still holds his face at the door. 

Zim is completely ignored. Dib swallows hard as his face grows ghostly pale again. “I… what?”

“I said-”

“Yeah, I know what you said,” Dib interrupts with a vague gesture, “But I was as careful as I could be. Well, we  _ were _ attacked by an Ellen Trechend, but I solved the problem using tact and wordplay.”

“Zim distinctly remembers the Dib throwing trees and boulders at the bird-beast before opening up a rift in the very earth,” Zim supplies unhelpfully from across the room. Dib shoots him an offended look. 

Gaz groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Okay,  _ aside _ from that, did you encounter anything else?”

“No! Just Aed, briefly! I don’t understand why they’re looking for me now after so long, but I’m not going back.” Dib’s eyes become glassy. “I’ll die before I let that happen.”

Gaz gently shakes Dib’s shoulder, and the dark-haired boy returns to reality. By now, Zim and Keef have regrouped at the couch. As they sit there in silence, Keef finds himself finally processing everything that happened over the past several days. He sits down, shifting to lean his back against the couch as he runs his fingers through his curly hair.

“Oh my God. Oh my  _ God. _ This is all really happening,” Keef breathes, voice almost inaudible.

Dib, who’s the closest to Keef, happens to pick up on the redhead’s words and murmurs, “It’s… a lot. Sorry for dragging you into it.”

Keef wipes cold sweat from his brow. “Don’t apologize, it wasn’t you who dragged me into this. It’s nobody’s fault.” 

Before Dib can argue back against Keef’s denial, Gaz sighs and sits down with her back against the wall. “Since Zim’s base is the most heavily-defended, Dib and I are crashing here for a few days. Just until the Fae give up their stupid hunt.”

For a few heartbeats, Keef almost feels indignant about being disincluded from the group staying in Zim’s base. But, after pondering it a little more, he feels the irritation fade. 

He’s just a human. The Fae won’t be looking for him like they’ll be looking for Gaz and Dib. 

As he thinks this, he finds himself absentmindedly glancing across the room at Gaz.

Keef feels a chill run up his spine. He doesn’t ask any questions but he does find himself slowly becoming aware of… odd features that make Gaz look less human and more Fae. Things like pointed canine teeth, catlike slitted pupils, and the near-imperceptible pulsing light under her skin that illuminates her veins. It’s almost mesmerizing, but Keef’s staring soon earns him a warning scowl from Gaz and the redhead hurriedly lowers his gaze. 

Shortly afterward, she leaves the room and doesn’t return. Now, alone with Dib and Zim in the slowly-lightening living room, Keef starts shuffling across the room to where his mattress rests.

Before he can settle in, however, Dib’s voice murmurs, “You were staring at Gaz because you can see through glamour now, right?”

Keef pauses, then glances over his shoulder. Dib’s eyes give off a pale glow in the dimly lit room, and Keef tries not to stare. 

In unison, Keef and Zim both ask, “What’s glamour?”

Dib blinks slowly. “Glamour is a spell used by fae to hide their true appearance. Every Fae can use it, and so can the Fae-touched. I guess you can see through it now too, huh?”

_ See through…? _

Keef squints at Dib for a few seconds, trying to pick out any distinguishing features that might set him apart from human beings. And for a minute or two, Keef doesn’t see any. But then, just before he’s about to give up, he starts slowly noticing things that he didn’t before. 

His dark hair gives off an otherworldly silver reflection when the light hits it just right, he shares the same slitted pupils and sharp canines his sister does, and pale blue light spiderwebs under his skin like rivers on a map. Not only that, but Keef now sees the vaguest smattering of silver and gold freckles across his friend’s nose and cheeks. 

Keef blinks owlishly. “ _ Oh.” _

“Yeah.”

“I  _ can _ see through glam- wait, you  _ are _ using glamour right now, right?”

Dib nods, swallowing nervously. “Y-yeah, I am. I know it might be kind of weird-”

_ I’ve never seen anyone that looks like him. _

“You look so cool!” Keef chirps.

At the same time, Zim mutters, “You’re much less ugly than the rest of your kind.”

Dib’s head snaps up in surprise. “Wait,  _ what?” _

“You heard us,” Zim snaps.

“Oh. Th-thanks? I… wasn’t really expecting that.”

Keef cocks an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“I mean,” Dib gestures vaguely to himself, “If anyone else saw me for real, they’d either call the FBI or run for the hills. Doesn’t it freak you out?”

Zim narrows his eyes with a scoff. “Nothing scares Zim.”

With a laugh, Keef settles into the raggedy old mattress. “Dude, I literally got mind-controlled by an alien and watched you verbally annihilate a 30-foot-tall monster bird. Hell, we’re hiding from  _ Faeries _ in the base of an  _ alien!  _ You’re like, not even on the top ten list of “Weirdest Things I’ve Ever Seen.””

“What about top twenty?” Dib presses, and Keef is momentarily struck dumb when he sees Dib genuinely  _ smiling.  _

_ Dib doesn’t smile, ever,  _ Keef finds his classmate Zita’s words replaying in his head.

_ “Since he went missing, he’s been super creepy. Everyone’s worried he’s gonna snap and kill someone someday.” _

Keef grins. “You’re probably number… forty-nine on the list of the weirdest things I’ve seen.”

_ Dib isn’t a monster. Not even close. _

“What’s number one?” Dib asks.

“Miss Bitters.”

“What? You’re bullshitting me,” Dib snorts.

Zim’s brows raise slightly. “Intriguing. I was certain I happened to be the only creature unconvinced of Miss Bitters’ human facade.”

Keef rolls onto his side to face Dib full-on. Zim crosses the room to sit cross-legged nearby. “Listen, here’s my theory…”

Dib and Zim listen intently to every word Keef says, even when Keef tells an obvious white lie in his stories about Miss Bitters, Dib merely laughs and doesn’t call him out on it. Hell, Zim even backs him up to  _ confirm _ Keef’s joking statements.

And after a while, Keef finds himself genuinely  _ comfortable _ despite the Irken Invader to his right and the golden eyes glowing from the couch in front of him.

* * *

Keef and Dib seem to be on the verge of dozing off, their Miss Bitters story having reached its end, when the Dib’s smile fades. His eyes grow somber and mournful once more. Zim’s antennae twitch in the boy’s direction as the Invader attempts to pick up on any distress in his companion.

Dib sighs, picking absently at his nails. “I know we were just having a good time and all, but I really need to say something.” He curls into himself beneath the blanket. “You weren’t supposed to know about all this. I should’ve tried harder to prevent you guys from getting sucked into this…Fae shit.”

Keef opens his mouth, presumably to argue with Dib, but the dark-haired boy continues before the redhead gets a chance.

“But there’s no point in worrying about what could’ve been, so all I can do now is prepare you for what’s probably to come.” 

_ Something is wrong. _

Zim feels a chill run down his spine and shudder through his PAK when Dib’s eyes flicker like dying embers. The dark haired boy holds Zim’s gaze for a heartbeat longer before lowering his face and swinging his legs over the edge of the couch. He takes a deep breath. 

His head swivels to focus on Keef, and Zim doesn’t miss the way cyan light runs through Dib’s veins, winding up his arms and around his fingertips like spiderwebs. For a moment, nothing happens. 

Then, Keef is lifted into the air. 

Yelping in alarm, Keef waves his arms in an attempt to steady himself. This fails miserably, and he ends up hanging upside-down in midair, green eyes wide. “D-Dib, you shouldn’t be using your powers! You’re still not recovered-!”

“That’s one of the nice things about me,” Dib replies, “I’m not human. I don’t need to rest like a human does.”

“You really need to stop saying that,” Keef grumbles, crossing his arms.

Dib ignores Keef’s remark, instead letting his glowing eyes drift between the Irken and the redhead. “My “powers” run on the same logic the Fae themselves do:give and take. I take the life energy of one thing, and give it to something else. Typically, I give it to myself so I can move things without touching them, but I can give it to whatever I feel like. For example…”

Dib gently lowers Keef to the ground, rearranging him into a seated position as he does so, then walks across the room. Zim watches with interest, but feels a spark of dismay run through him when he sees how Dib stares at a light switch on the wall. However, curiosity wins out over alarm and Zim doesn’t intervene. 

Dib’s fingers brush the leaves of a plant GIR dug up and dumped on the coffee table. The leaves turn to ash. Dib places his fingertips on the light switch. 

Zim scrunches his eyes shut and slaps his hands over his antennae as every lightbulb in the room erupts with blinding light. the wiring in the wall groans and wails at the sudden explosion of energy, the TV flashes on and flips wildly through every single channel, and the radio in the corner screeches at its highest volume. 

Then, as quickly as it started, the room turns dark and the noise ceases its assault on Zim’s antennae. Tentatively, Zim lowers his hands and glances around the room for any form of damage. To his bewilderment, nothing in the room has been harmed, save for a few leaves on GIR’s plant. A quiet breath leaves him.

“Life-energy is way more powerful than anything humans or Irkens can create. The life-energy coursing through one square foot of grass provides approximately the same amount of energy generated by a nuclear detonation.” Dib breathes almost reverently, moving to place his hands in his pockets.

But Zim notices the blackened skin on Dib’s fingertips, as well as the acrid stink of burning flesh.

“Your hand-” Zim starts.

Dib interrupts him by showing his burned fingertips to Keef and Zim. “But I’m not entirely Fae either. My body doesn’t conduct energy like a Fae body does. So, while I may heal fast, I’m not immune to blowback from the energy I manipulate.”

Keef leaps to his feet, immediately rushing to fuss over Dib’s wound. Zim, too, rises to his feet, albeit much more slowly. His ruby eyes linger on the blackened skin of Dib’s hand, and he has to fight not to wince at the burn, but he lets his attention shift to Dib’s face. 

His expression is blank. Empty. Hollow. Defeated.

Zim internally recoils. His greatest nemesis shouldn’t look like that, ever! This is just…

_ This is wrong. _

_ Something is wrong with the Dib. _

“Dib-beast, stop,” Zim demands in an authoritarian tone.

Dib doesn’t acknowledge the Invader’s words. Instead, he starts speaking  _ again _ , with that same dead look in his eyes. “When I was little, the Fae stole me and Gaz-”

Zim doesn’t know when he crossed the room, but before he can process this information, he finds himself standing nose-to-nose with Dib. Marble-like eyes hold amber ones in a vicelike grip, and Zim feels Dib’s erratic breaths hot against his face. Zim’s clawed hands are locked on Dib’s bony wrists.

“Dib-stink, that’s enough.”

“Zim, let go of me.”

“No.”

For a moment, Dib’s eyes flare pink, blue, and gold. Zim bares his jagged teeth, PAK whirring as he returns Dib’s challenging glare. A tense silence stretches between them for Tallest-knows-how long, before Dib’s glowing eyes return to normal and his shoulders sag. Zim says nothing. He lets go of Dib’s wrists.

Dib’s attention drops to the floor, and Zim and Keef merely watch in silence as Dib sways slightly on his feet. 

Finally, Dib speaks in a broken, defeated voice, “I’m just… so  _ tired _ of this.”

Zim stiffens as those words unearth a deeply-buried memory.

* * *

_ “Zim, what’s wrong? You seem… weird, after Tallest Miyuki called for you.” _

_ “Zim is fine, Skoodge. Just tired.” _

_ The shorter Irken smeet speeds up to match Zim’s erratic strides.  _

_ “Your breathing is weird.” _

_ “Zim is fine.” _

_ “Then why is your tunic so… dirty? You never let your tunic get messy before this.” _

_ Zim grits his teeth. “It’s nothing.” _

_ “Wait, is that…Irken blood?” _

_ Zim whips around, claws extending as he lashes out at his clutchmate. “ZIM IS NOT DEFECTIVE!” _

_ Skoodge staggers backwards and falls, eyes wide. Two neat slashes tear through the front of the shorter Irken’s pink tunic, although no blood seeps through the tear. Zim’s chest heaves with panicked breaths. His clawed hands shake. His spooch thumps and twists in ways it shouldn’t. _

**DEFECTIVE.**

_ “Zim isn’t… Zim’s not…” A strange, pitiful noise worms its way out of Zim’s throat. “Zim isn’t defective.” _

_ As he sinks to his knees with watery eyes, two chubby arms wrap around Zim and pull him close.  _

_ Zim returns the hug. _

_ “Zim is… I’m so tired of this.” _

* * *

Zim reaches out, grabs Dib by the shoulders, and pulls the human close. 

He’s not sure if what Skoodge did for him on that dark day would have the same comforting effect on a human, but he supposes it’s worth a shot. For a time, Dib doesn’t move and Zim worries he’s done something wrong. But after what feels like an eternity, Zim feels Dib’s crooked fingers gingerly grip the fabric of Zim’s t-shirt. Dib lets out a shuddering breath.

“I’m so  _ tired,” _ Dib rasps, “I just want it to stop  _ hurting. _ Why can’t the Fae just leave me alone? Haven’t… haven’t they done enough to me?”

Zim lets out a slow breath. “I don’t know, Dib-stink. I don’t know why they continue to pursue you.”

Hardly a second later, Keef joins in the hug and wraps his arms around both Zim and Dib. 

“We won’t let them take you. I promise.” Keef murmurs, squeezing the two boys tight.

Zim expects to be revolted by the gesture, but for reasons he can’t explain, he actually feels… safe. Something about the feeling of arms wrapped around him makes him feel like he’s experiencing something he was deprived of before, and he’s pretty certain he  _ was _ deprived of it. Zim’s never felt safe before in his life, at least not how he feels right this moment. 

_ Why haven’t I felt like this before? _

Zim swallows, unconsciously knotting his clawed fingers in the back of Dib’s coat.

_ Perhaps… I’ll call the Tallest in a few days and ask.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked this chapter! It's not very action-packed, but I'm really proud of it!


	9. embers and iron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delayed update! I've been working on a lil zadr fic for mermay, and I'm also preoccupied with everything that's going on in the world. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy the update anyways!

Keef steps out of the Hi-Skool into the gloomy autumn chill, eyes fixated on the depressing gray clouds that blanket the sky. A thin layer of snow coats the grass and sidewalk, and Keef’s breath forms clouds of condensation that puff from his lips. The wind bites at his cheeks. He tucks his head further into the red and yellow scarf around his neck. 

His sneakers threaten to skid on the frosty pavement, but Keef is careful with his steps and before long, he veers off onto the grass. He hopes that nobody will notice his altered walking route, seeing as nobody’s questioned it for the past four days, but that wish is quickly dashed. Keef stiffens, stopping dead as Torque calls from behind him, “Hey, aren’t you going home, Keef?”

Keef turns his head to meet the burly student’s curious gaze. With practised ease, Keef feigns a smile and replies, “I have some after-school stuff to do. I’ll head home when I’m done.”

Torque cocks an eyebrow. “Your extra-credit linguistics stuff? I thought that was held here at school.”

Keef tries not to let his smile waver.  _ You may be my friend, but I can’t tell you the truth. It’ll only make you more suspicious of Dib. _

“N-no, no, I’ve got guitar lessons.”

“Didn’t you pass all your guitar lessons in middle school?”

_ Son of a bitch, I forgot about that, _ Keef mentally chastises himself.

At the same moment Torque prepares to press the issue further, Jessica steps out of the crowd of students. She flashes a cheeky grin at Keef before turning her attention to Torque. “Haven’t you heard the rumor?”

“What rumor?” Keef blurts out anxiously.

With a chuckle, Jessica replies, “Gretchen saw you walking to Skool with the weirdo last week. And she also saw you getting all  _ lovey-dovey _ and  _ mushy _ over him when he had a panic attack or something. Everyone thinks you’re  _ gay _ .”

Keef blinks. “Everyone knew I was gay in the sixth grade, and I haven’t exactly been discreet about it.”

“No, that’s not what I mean, numbnuts,” Jessica groans, rolling her eyes, “I mean you and Dib are gay. Like,  _ dating _ -each-other gay.”

Keef feels his face flush. “We’re just friends. I don’t know if I feel attracted to him or not.”

Torque pulls a face. “Ew, you’re dating the creepy Membrane kid?”

“We’re not dating, I just said that.”

“They’re dating,” Jessica singsongs with a haughty smirk at Keef.

Groaning, Keef drags his gloved hands down his face in exasperation. “ _ Christ _ , we’re not dating. We’re just friends. But even if we  _ were _ dating, what’s the big deal? Why’s everyone so worked up over this?”

“You’re asking  _ why _ it’s such a big deal?!” Jessica exclaims, “Uh, obviously, it’s because everyone in this side of the state knows that Dib is weird with a capital “W.”  _ I’ve _ heard theories that he’s not actually the real Dib, but a replacement or clone sent here by Professor Membrane! Like, some people think that back when he disappeared, he actually died, and his dad just made a new kid! Cuz why else would he go from a crazy dweeb obsessed with aliens, to a brooding emo loser who never talks?!”

Keef stiffens. 

It’s not something Keef thinks he should be this upset about, but hearing Jessica’s ridiculous theory makes something  _ burn _ in his chest. His nails bite through his thin gloves to dig into his palms. Turning to face Jessica and Torque full-on, he speaks in a low voice, “What gives you any right to say shit like that about someone who hasn’t done anything to you?”

Jessica blinks owlishly. “Dude, it was just a joke.”

Keef’s mind wanders back to the night he spent in Zim’s base. Once again, he hears Dib’s broken voice, muffled by Zim’s shirt. 

_ “I just want it to stop hurting. Why can’t the Fae just leave me alone? Haven’t… haven’t they done enough to me?” _

A lump forms in Keef’s throat. He swallows hard. “How can you say such nasty things about someone you haven’t even bothered to know?”

“Keef—” Torque starts.

“Look, I know I used to laugh at your jokes about him, but that’s changed,” Keef interrupts with a hard glare at Torque and Jessica, “If you guys think making assumptions about people and making fun of them is okay, then I don’t want to hang out with you anymore.”

With a snort, Jessica narrows her eyes at Keef. “Jeez, maybe the weirdo’s rubbing off on you. You used to be fun.”

“I guess our ideas of “fun” are pretty different nowadays.”

“Whatever,” Jessica scoffs, “Have fun doing gross shit with your creepy boyfriend.”

Keef turns and walks away before he can lose his temper. He’d rather not give Jessica more reason to fuel his anger, since he doesn’t want to make a mistake he’ll regret. Instead, he focuses on the snowy grass below his feet as he makes his way to the small forest towering above the shortcut to Zim’s base.

Once he’s a fair distance into the forest, Keef stops. 

He closes his eyes, takes a slow, deep breath through his nose… and lets it out in an angry yell. Keef screams his frustration at the cold and indifferent sky, stomping in a circle beneath the fir trees. He yells until his anger is spent, which is admittedly a long time, and then he stops to catch his breath. 

Chest heaving, Keef tilts his head back and groans. 

"Why was I friends with them in the first place?"

With a final brisk exhale, Keef tilts his head back down and continues his trek down the snow-dusted dirt path. 

Unfortunately, he doesn’t get far before he pauses. The hairs on the back of his neck rise. 

Keef glances over his shoulder and sees nothing.

He turns back around. His heart stops beating.

A Fae stands ominously several feet from him.

Keef meets its solid white eyes with wide green ones, and he takes a few steps back on instinct. The Fae’s thin lips curve into an eerie smile.

The Fae is much taller than any human Keef’s ever seen, with angular features and too-large eyes. The eyes themselves are emotionless and cold like marble, and the Fae’s skin is a pale purplish-silver. Its hair is white as the snow surrounding it, and two elegant black antlers crown the Fae’s head, matched by the thick cloak of black feathers draped over its narrow shoulders. 

“Hello, my friend,” the Fae greets in a honey-sweet tone, “Might I ask you a favor?”

Keef puts his hands in his pockets. “We’re not friends.”

The Fae hums thoughtfully. Keef drops his gaze to his feet as snowflakes fall in his hair and drip down into the collar of his jacket.  _ Am I going to die here? _

“My name is Regin, and I am an Archfey in search of a lost…pet. Two pets, in fact. You happen to carry a faint trace of their scent, and I’d like to know why that is.” The Fae’s tone carries the faintest hint of a threat, masked by sickly sweetness. 

Taking a deep, deliberate breath, Keef raises his head to meet the Fae’s gaze with a level look of his own. “Faeries can’t tell a lie, right?”

The Fae hesitates, seemingly taken aback by the bold statement. It doesn’t answer, so Keef presses on. “If you want any information, you’ll have to answer any questions  _ I _ have. 

In less than an instant, the Archfey has crossed the distance between them to tower ominously over Keef. It bares its ice-white teeth in a snarl and hisses, “Know your place,  _ human.  _ I could kill you in an instant, and lure my pets here with your eviscerated remains.”

Yet, despite the threat, Keef feels eerily calm, like the waters of an untouched spring. His heartbeat hasn’t sped up since it stuttered the first time he saw the Archfey, his palms aren’t clammy, and no tremors wrack his lanky frame.

In his pocket, the iron nail Aed gave him feels heavy.

“Maybe I don’t have magic or anything to protect myself, but trust me when I say you don’t scare me.”

“Insolent  _ whelp—” _

“Do you wanna know why you don’t scare me?”

The Fae hisses. Keef doesn’t flinch. In his mind, he once again sees Dib staring down the monstrous Ellen Trechend, and Zim’s silhouette balanced over himself and Dib on steel spider legs. 

Keef bares his teeth in a savage grin. “It’s because my friends are scarier than you.”

The Fae raises its hand, claws outstretched. 

Keef braces himself. He pulls the nail from his pocket.

* * *

“Greetings, my Tallest! It is I, Zim!” 

Zim stands proudly, chin held high and hands laced behind his back. In front of him, the faces of Almighty Tallest Red and Purple stare back from the massive computer screen of Zim’s basement. The Invader grins brightly, hoping against hope that his Tallest won’t notice the way it wavers. 

After a moment of silence, Purple tosses a chip in his mouth and crunches on it noisily. With a scowl, Red sighs, “What is it, Zim?”

Zim’s smile falters. He clears his throat. “Zim… Zim has a question.”

“Spit it out!” Purple snaps. Zim flinches.

Zim swallows. “Y-you see, I…well, I have learned much about Earth culture and customs—solely for the purpose of invading, of course—and while in disguise, I was pulled into what the humans call a “hug.”” Zim’s claws unconsciously move to worry at the hem of his tunic. “Zim is curious as to why this custom is not practiced in the Armada. It is shown to greatly improve morale and unity among a large group. Perhaps it could strengthen our ranks...?”

Red and Purple exchange a glance, something dark glittering in their eyes. Purple’s mouth twitches, as though he’s fighting back a smile. They slowly turn to smile coldly at Zim. 

“You see, Zim, Irkens are created  _ without _ the need for primitive measures such as that. Every Irken is perfectly crafted, perfectly built and programmed, so that no emotion is felt. This “hug” you speak of, is a purely  _ empathetic _ gesture. An  _ emotional  _ gesture,” Red begins in a cheerful, almost sing-song tone.

Zim’s spooch wrenches anxiously.

Purple cackles, shoving a handful of chips in his mouth. “Yeah! The only reason an Irken would feel inclined to do something like that is if they were  _ Defective _ !”

Zim’s mind gets very, very loud. His claws tear a chunk of fabric from the hem of his tunic. 

“But you can prove you’re not Defective if you carry out a special task for us,” Purple continues, and Zim’s head snaps up in desperation.

“Please, my Tallest! I’ll do anything! I am loyal!”

Red bares his teeth. “Kill the pitiful creatures who made you think emotion is a good thing.”

Zim feels something inside him  _ shatter. _

* * *

Gaz narrows her eyes with arms folded over her chest. The metal walls of Zim’s base bite coldly into Gaz’s back as she leans against it, but it doesn’t bite as coldly as the conversation she just overheard. Zim hasn’t moved or spoken in the five minutes since the call ended, and Gaz can very clearly imagine the way he looks standing in front of the computer.

She considers leaving Zim alone, but the orders from the Invader’s leaders put Gaz on edge, raising her hackles and igniting the fire in her core, so she sighs and stands upright. Boots clicking against the hollow-sounding metal floor, Gaz walks down the hall to enter the room Zim called his Tallest from. 

“So what’s your plan here, Zim?” she demands in a blunt tone, and the Invader whirls around with wide, startled eyes.

Then, his eyes narrow into fuschia slits and he growls, “What are  _ you _ doing here?”

“Had a hunch something was up, so I followed you.”

Zim tilts his head towards the ceiling. “ _ Computer!” _

**“Ugh, what now?”**

“Why didn’t you warn me that  _ she, _ ” Zim points a gloved hand at Gaz, “had infiltrated the deepest and most secret reaches of my base?!”

**“Huh. She didn’t use the elevator, so my sensors weren’t set off.”**

_ “Impossible!”  _ Zim hisses, but his voice doesn’t have the same fire behind it that it usually does. 

Gaz uncrosses her arms. Sighing, she crosses the room to face Zim with a vaguely sympathetic expression on her face. They hold each other’s eyes for a moment, then Gaz breaks the silence. “So what are you gonna do? Roll over and let your stupid leaders force you to kill Dib and Keef? Or are you going to do what you  _ want _ to do and ignore them?”

With a series of clanking sounds, the four slender legs of Zim’s PAK extend to arc menacingly around the Irken. He bares his teeth, but Gaz can very clearly see the turmoil in Zim’s red eyes. Despite it, Zim snaps, “I am one of Irk’s  _ finest. _ I do not feel your stupid human emotions, and I will follow orders!”

“You really believe that shit?” Gaz snorts with a humorless laugh. “You’re as easy to read as a fucking picture book, dude. You feel things. You aren’t like the rest of your species, and honestly? That’s better than being emotionless and hollow.”

With a bone-chilling hiss through razor-sharp teeth, Zim takes a menacing step forward. The pink lights inlaying the joints of his PAK legs cast an eerie rose-coloured glow over the surrounding area, reflecting on the sterile surfaces of his lab and glinting coldly off the alien’s bared fangs. Gaz narrows her eyes and, while not outwardly posturing, she readies herself for a fight.

Golden light spills from Gaz’s veins, illuminates her brown irises, and shines softly through her clothes. The smell of propane rises into the air as the flammable gas starts hissing over her skin, filling her lungs, waiting to be ignited at the slightest whim. Zim’s eyes drift down to stare at the spiderwebbing golden light that marks Gaz’s skin, and for a moment, Gaz thinks he might reconsider fighting.

But after a few heartbeats, the Invader shakes his head as if to clear it. His eyes narrow into slits again, and a low hiss leaves him before he growls, “Zim is not  _ defective. _ I will carry out the will of my Tallest, and I will not feel anything while doing it—”

“Cut the  _ bullshit _ !” Gaz snarls, sparks crackling over her skin and spilling from her lips. “You and I are  _ not _ friends. Not in the slightest. But even from where I stand, I can tell that you’re more than a mindless fucking drone. You don’t need to listen to your stupid leaders—”

“ _ Shut up!” _ Zim screams as he lunges for Gaz with a PAK leg outstretched. 

Gaz’s blood boils like liquid fire, and she exhales smoothly as fire erupts from her skin. Her hair hisses as the keratin becomes searing plasma, and she bares her teeth in a red-hot snarl, but she doesn’t move. 

Zim’s PAK leg freezes an inch from Gaz’s face. The alien stands a few metres away at the other end of the arcing metal leg, face twisting in a myriad of different emotions as his fists clench tightly at his sides. As Zim mutters to himself in distress, Gaz reaches up and wraps her fingers around the stainless metal PAK leg segment pointing in her face. After a few heartbeats, the metal under Gaz’s hand turns red and begins to melt. Zim finally notices what Gaz is doing and retracts the PAK leg with a hiss of annoyance.

“Thought you were gonna kill me,” Gaz remarks, shaking droplets of molten metal from her fingertips.

Zim watches the scorching drops hit the floor with a muted hissing noise, then inspects his own freshly-warped PAK leg. He scrutinizes it for a time, his gaze turbulent and confused. Then, after an indeterminate amount of time, Zim lets out a hissing breath through his teeth and reaches up to tug at his antennae in frustration.

“Zim is  _ going _ to, just—!” Zim says, panic creeping into his tone. “—just...give me a minute!”

The flames dancing over Gaz’s skin flicker and die out, although the glow of the fire beneath her skin still remains. She crosses her arms and shifts her weight from foot to foot nonchalantly. “A’ight.”

After a minute has passed, Zim goes from rocking in place to pacing in circles. It’s almost painful to watch, seeing the usually-confident alien having an existential crisis before her eyes, but Gaz is not at  _ all _ comfortable with emotional situations, so she remains silent.

Yet, she can’t shake the creeping fear that slowly drags her attention to the pink glow of Zim’s PAK. 

Gaz knows very little about the device fused to Zim’s back, but she’s overheard enough from Dib to know that it’s been programmed by Zim’s leaders to make him into a perfect super-soldier. And even if it’s defective, she still worries about the possibility of Zim’s leaders hijacking his PAK in order to wreak havoc. So even if Zim seems very much in-control, Gaz remains prepared to fight off the Invader should the need arise.

Zim’s hands drag down his face as he lets out an anxious noise. “I-I don’t...Zim doesn’t know what to  _ do. _ ”

“Hey—” Gaz starts, but Zim snaps his head up to stare at her with confused eyes and bared teeth.

“Zim will kill the sister-larva.  _ Then  _ I will have no choice but to follow my Tallest’s orders.”

Gaz’s eyes widen. Zim’s PAK legs rocket through the air, but this time, Gaz dodges. Two legs slam into the floor where she’d just been standing. Her eyes don’t dare leave the Invader’s form. 

As Zim lunges for her, a single word flashes through her mind.

_ Fuck. _

* * *

Surrounded by cold, indifferent pines, and wind that steals his breath away, Keef staggers backwards, away from the Archfey. His breath comes in exhilarated gasps, and his hands shake with adrenaline. 

The Archfey screeches, clawing at his chest at the iron nail impaled there. Deep scarlet drips from the wound, staining the snow below the Archfey’s feet, and the acrid stench of burning flesh hits Keef like a sledgehammer. The iron scalds the faerie but his flesh heals just as quickly, and the creature has to claw at the skin surrounding the wound to prevent it from healing over the nail and encasing it inside. 

Eyes wide with fury and agony, the Archfey snaps his head up to bare needle-sharp teeth and snarls, “You wretched little  _ urchin!” _

Keef takes that as his cue to run.

He spins on his heel, tearing away as the snow begins falling harder. Pine boughs and brittle shrubs strike his skin, and the icy wind makes his eyes water, but Keef keeps pushing himself to run faster, faster,  _ faster! _ He can hear the rapid steps of the Archfey pursuing him, but he doesn’t look back. 

He’s running on pure adrenaline at this point, completely ignorant to the burning of his lungs and the throbbing of his legs. Keef knows he’s going to suffer for pushing himself like this later, but most of his thoughts are centred around the white-hot terror coursing through his veins, so he doesn’t linger on future problems for long. 

Keef bursts through a wall of dead thorn bushes. His feet skid on frosty concrete, and he catches himself on one hand. Once he’s recovered, he keeps running down the sidewalk. His sneakers slap loudly against the pavement, and he no longer hears the Archfey pursuing him, but he doesn’t dare slow down. Breath coming in labored gasps, he glances behind him down the street. 

Snapping branches and flickers of movement to his left catch his attention.

The Archfey is running alongside Keef, its empty white eyes fixated on him.

The faerie is hidden enough from onlookers that nobody would see it clearly from a distance, but that’s not reassuring at all for Keef. His stomach twists, but he grits his teeth and puts on another burst of speed. The Archfey’s spidery hand reaches out to swipe at Keef’s jacket hood. Keef scrunches his eyes tight, ready to be dragged off the sidewalk.

_ BANG! _

Keef’s eyes fly open in confusion. 

Where there once was thick forest and an angry Archfey, there’s now a seven foot tall wooden fence. A large house towers over it. Keef stops. 

After a moment of surprise, Keef puts two and two together and turns to continue running for Zim’s house. This time though, he’s laughing hysterically. The earlier tension is gone. 

After all, who would’ve thought a powerful Archfey could be defeated by running into a fence?

* * *

Sweat beads on Zim’s face. Burns mar his skin in swathes of dark purplish-red, slowly healing with the help of his PAK, but more continue to sear his flesh before they can disappear. 

All around him, fire dances and roars.

Gaz’s eyes burn with the same ruthless flame, a brilliant golden-orange framed by purple hair. She exhales, and a tongue of fire erupts from her lips. Zim narrowly dodges.

All the while, his mind races.

_ My Tallest ordered me to kill them. _

_ I don’t want to kill them. _

_ But I need to follow orders! _

_ Do I really need to…? _

Zim’s foot slips on the metal floor as he lands. A hiss leaves him when his ankle cracks ominously. 

_ Who knows what they’ll do to me if I disobey? _

_ But if I kill the Dib and his sister-larva and the Keef...then I’ll be alone again. _

_ I shouldn’t feel alone. Irkens don’t feel emotions. _

Zim staggers to his feet. A burst of flame grazes the tips of his antennae and his vision goes white with agony. He lets out a shriek, falling back to the floor. 

A foot slams down on his stomach and a hand wraps around his throat. Heat erupts directly in Zim’s face, forcing the Irken to press himself back into the floor away from the source. When he finally manages to crack his eyes open, he’s greeted by the menacing silhouette of Gaz pinning him down with a tongue of angry flame held to his face. 

They hold each other’s eyes for a few tense moments.

Sparks crackle a hair’s width from Zim’s face when Gaz hisses, “I thought you said you were gonna kill me.”

Zim’s spooch churns with anxiety at her words. He breaks eye contact, turning his head to the side and going limp in defeat. The flame held to his face lingers a few moments longer, then slowly sputters and dies out. Gaz’s fingers loosen around Zim’s neck.

“You don’t want to kill us,” Gaz sighs, backing away to let Zim sit up. 

The fire dancing around them dies, taking with it the golden light that had bathed the entire laboratory and leaving them in near-darkness. The only light that remains is the dim reddish light given off by Zim’s numerous machines and the buttons on his computer. And in the darkness, Gaz sits back with a heavy sigh.

Zim draws his knees to his chest and rests his folded arms atop them. The pair remain in somber silence for a time, before Zim leans his head forward to press his face into his arms and murmurs, “Irkens are specifically programmed to be unable to even  _ consider _ disobeying, but Zim feels conflicted.”

Gaz tips her head back to blow a small tongue of flame nonchalantly into the air. “You wanna follow orders, but you also don’t. Right?”

Zim nods.

“So...what would happen if your leaders found out? That you can, like,  _ feel _ things and think for yourself?”

A shudder runs through Zim’s body and he curls further into himself. “Zim would be…” he swallows hard, “...at best, they would re-encode me. At worst, my PAK and all its components, as well as my organic structure, would be taken apart, wiped, and distributed among the population.”

Gaz’s brows furrow. “Dunno what re-encoding is, but it doesn’t sound good.”

“Re-encoding is when the Control Brains attach to an Irken’s PAK, strip them of their rank and status, and give them a new rank and status.”

“So it’s either re-encoding or execution,” Gaz remarks to herself, “That’s rough, buddy.”

Zim lets out a humourless bark of laughter. “You are not wrong.”

“No offense, but your entire society sounds like shit.”

Zim narrows his eyes. “Watch your tone when speaking of my people,  _ human _ .”

“You talk shit about humans all the time, man, I think I’m entitled to a bit of shit-talking.”

The Irken opens his mouth to shoot back a snarky retort, but before he can, the proximity alarm echoes off the metal walls and makes both Zim and Gaz look up in surprise. With a spike of the usual nervousness that comes with the proximity alarm’s cry, Zim rises to his feet and makes his way towards the halls. Gaz follows close behind.

As he’s about to exit the room, a tiny noise makes him pause. 

Zim swivels his head around, antennae pricked in the direction of the noise with a confused look on his face. The sound appears to have come from the computer, or near it at least, and almost sounded like...like a transmission being cut off? He’s about to take a step in the direction of his computer to investigate, but the proximity alarm shrieks again. 

Zim curses under his breath, throws his arms in the air, and stomps into the hallway with Gaz at his side. 

Whatever the clicking noise was, Zim’s sure it’s nothing important.

* * *

On the Massive, Tallest Red and Tallest Purple stand facing their massive computer screen with smug grins on their faces. All the navigator irkens and service drones working in the ship’s bridge also stare at the now-blank screen with stunned expressions. And that is exactly what Red and Purple wanted to see.

“So he  _ is _ a defective,” Purple remarks, not at all surprised.

With a clawed finger pressed thoughtfully to his chin, Red lets out a disappointed sigh. “It seems that way.”

Purple lets out a laugh as he stuffs a handful of chips in his mouth. “Well, what should we do about it? Certainly it would be...irresponsible to let a defective Irken wander the universe, where any enemy forces could capture and study him to learn our weaknesses.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Red agrees with mock remorse. Purple doubles over with laughter.

Behind them, the navigator irkens and service drones have gone back to their normal duties. They know that if they speak up, whether in support or opposition, they’ll suffer for it. But of course, none of them disagree with their Tallest.

Their PAKs all function as they were meant to, after all.

In the hallway just outside, however, stands a rather small irken. He’s horrified by what he hears, by what is implied, and his initial plan to report to his Tallest is completely forgotten. His mind is overtaken with a sense of worry and kinship that drives him to act in opposition to his leaders’ expectations. 

Invader Skoodge races away down the hall towards the docking port. 

_ They’re gonna kill him. They’re gonna kill Zim. _

* * *

Dib is lying on the couch with a Rubix Cube in his hands when the proximity alarm in Zim’s base goes off and makes him jump with a high-pitched shriek. In his surprise, he tosses the cube into the air, inadvertently activating his powers, and the toy is propelled into the ceiling so forcefully that it embeds itself in the metal and stays there. Dib winces, already knowing that Zim isn’t gonna be happy about that.

But then the proximity alarm squeals again and Dib presses a hand to his throbbing head with a groan. He sluggishly rolls off the couch onto the floor, lingers there for a heartbeat, then rises to his feet and slogs over to the door. He doesn’t draw on his enhanced perception despite how easy it would be, however. His headache is bad enough as is.

When he reaches the door, he risks a quick peek through the peephole. Once he sees who it is, his annoyance melts away and he opens the door.

Keef practically falls through it, cheeks red from the icy wind and snow, and blurts out, “Dude, you’re not gonna  _ believe  _ what just happened to me!”

“Maybe take off your jacket and stuff first, Keef.” 

“Oh, right!”

As Dib shuts and locks the door, Keef kicks off his sneakers and sheds his jacket, scarf, and hat. Once he’s tossed them in a messy pile in the corner, he grabs Dib by the shoulders and hisses, “I  _ stabbed _ an  _ Archfey _ .”

All the lightheartedness of the moment drains out of Dib in an instant, and his blood turns to ice. A tiny tremor sets into his hands. “Y-you  _ what?” _

“I was walking home from the Hi-Skool like normal, and out of nowhere, this creepy Fae starts talking to me, so I tried to stay calm, but he started threatening me and was gonna stab me or something so I used this iron nail that your friend Aed gave me, and then I—”

“Slow  _ down—” _

“—stabbed the guy in the chest and ran like hell! He almost caught me, but-and you’re not gonna believe this one-this Archfey Regin or whatever ran into a fence—”

The name drops from Keef’s lips and Dib starts shivering violently. Cold sweat soaks his hands, and his ears begin ringing.

_ Archfey Regin. _

Hollow eyes resurface from the darkest crevices of Dib’s memory, framed by silver hair and delicate antlers. Once again, he feels the weight of chains on his ankles, the feeling of a blade sawing through his tongue, the taste of his own blood as he chokes on it.

On instinct, Dib brings up shaking hands to gingerly grab Keef’s wrist. Keef’s voice cuts off as Dib does so, and he looks like he wants to make a remark of some sort, but Dib speaks first in a low voice.

“Did he hurt you?”

Keef blinks owlishly. “What? Oh. No, he didn’t touch me at all.”

“Did he take your name? He didn’t take it, did he?”

“Dib—”

“Your backpack didn’t have your name on it anywhere?”

“Dib!”

The sharp sound of Keef’s voice makes Dib flinch in surprise, but it does startle him out of his spiraling paranoia. Dib slowly grows aware of his surroundings once more, and once he regains a grip on reality, he awkwardly lets go of Keef. He steps back, eyes fixated on the floor as he wrings his fingers.

Keef runs a hand through his hair with a sigh. “Sorry for raising my voice, but you were kinda losing it there.”

“Regin was looking for me. Right?”

The redhead seems slightly taken aback by Dib’s blunt remark, but he quickly recovers and clears his throat. “Y-yeah, he was. He told me to give him information, but I didn’t say anything.”

Dib lets his eyes flick up to meet Keef’s momentarily. “And he threatened you because of it? Christ, you should’ve just told him if he was threatening you. Do you have any  _ idea  _ how fucking dangerous an Archfey is?”

“Not at all!” Keef chirps so confidently it makes Dib gawk at him, “But ignorance is bliss, I guess, and not even an Archfey is immune to running face-first into a wooden fence.”

“You’re so goddamn stu—” Dib processes the end of Keef’s statement and does a double-take. “—wait, did you say he...ran into a fence?”

Keef grins. “Yup.”

“Like, a standard wooden fence?”

“Mm-hm.”

“He just…” Dib presses his hands to his face and takes a deep breath, “...the guy just ran into a fucking fence at full tilt?”

“Hit it like a freight train. I know, it’s weird. But that shit was  _ so _ funny, Dib, you don’t understand, like—I laughed the whole way back here.”

Despite the fact that Keef managed to escape Archfey Regin without a scratch on him, Dib’s stomach still churns with nausea and he heaves a shaky sigh. Running his hands through his hair, he moves back across the room to sit down on the couch. He laces his fingers together and stares at his socks. 

Keef and Dib linger in silence for a short while longer. 

“Dib? I um...you were stolen by this Archfey guy as a kid, right?” Keef presses gently.

Dib sets his lips in a hard line. His shoulders stiffen, and his fingers tremble ever so slightly. 

Keef doesn’t force an answer. Instead, he walks quietly across the room to sit on the couch beside Dib. Dib feels his friend’s eyes fixated on him for a time, but soon becomes aware of a hand resting lightly on his shoulder.

The redhead gives Dib’s shoulder a slight squeeze. “Sorry. You don’t need to say anything. I know it hurts to think about it.”

“Thanks,” Dib mumbles, tongue like lead.

At that moment, there’s a clunking noise from the kitchen that makes both boys raise their heads in surprise. The hissing of pneumatics echoes against the tile floors, followed by the click of Zim’s boots as the Invader rapidly approaches.

He appears in the entrance to the kitchen, hands on his hips. And it’s then that Dib becomes aware of how terrible Zim looks, as well as the harsh stink of burnt flesh. With an eyebrow raised, Dib gives Zim a cocky once-over.

“You get in a fight with a waffle iron, spaceboy?”

Zim shoots Dib a dirty look. “Yes, in fact. A waffle iron with the disposition of a rabid mongoose—”

Zim squawks as a boot flies through the air and clocks him in the back of the head. He falls ungracefully to the ground in a heap. Hardly a second later, Gaz stomps crossly into the room with only one boot on. Muttering under her breath, she snatches her boot back up from where it’d landed and yanks it back on.

“So,” Dib starts, “did you guys have a fight down there? Or…?”

Gaz shrugs. “Somethin’ like that. Zim lost.”

Keef snorts, shooting Gaz a lighthearted smirk. “We can tell.”

“Zim  _ won, _ you ignorant  _ rats—!”  _ Zim snaps as he leaps to his feet and waggles an accusatory finger in the boys’ direction.

Dib opens his mouth to make a sarcastic remark, but before he can, a chill runs up his spine. Instead of a voice, a quiet breath leaves his lips. 

_ Something is wrong. _

Fingers digging into the couch, Dib swallows hard and lets his perception extend out in all directions. 

At first, all he detects are the quietly pulsing energy signatures given off by the plants around the house, deep in dormancy. But when he tunes that out, focuses on the human and animal auras…forces himself to delve into the abyssal expanses he alone can see...

... _ something looks back at him. _

Dib’s eyes fly wide open and he lets out a choked noise as he abruptly shuts off his perception. His friends’ eyes are all on him now, but Dib doesn’t pay attention to that. Instead, in a wheezing, gasping voice, he says, “He’s coming _.” _

“Who is coming here?” Zim asks, a growl rumbling in his throat.

As much as Dib would like to curl up on the ground, press himself away into a discreet little corner to hide and cry, he forces himself to stand up and glances around at Zim, Gaz, and Keef. His nails bite into his palms. “The Archfey. He’s almost here.”

Zim bares his teeth with a hiss, PAK clanking. The four slender spider legs extend threateningly from their metal shell and curve around Zim as the irken snarls, “Zim will kill it.”

“No, you won’t. You can’t. Especially not throwing your name around like that.” Dib retorts.

“What does Zim’s name have to do with any of this?!”

Dib turns to face Zim fully, eyes burning as eldritch energy pulses just under his skin. “If a Fae learns your name, they can take control of you entirely. Names are a powerful thing.”

“I will not bow to the control of some  _ Fae-beast—” _

“ _ Listen _ to me!” Dib snaps viciously.

The tone of his voice seems to strike some sense into Zim, because his magenta eyes narrow into slits and he reluctantly lapses into silence. His PAK legs retract, and he folds his arms over his chest with a scowl. 

“Okay. Tell us what to do, Dib,” Keef murmurs.

Dib lets out a nervous breath. Then, he straightens up as best as his panic will allow and begins, “Archfey Regin will expect me and Gaz, and now that he knows about Keef, he’ll expect him as well. But one thing he doesn’t know about…” Dib turns his gaze on Zim, “...is you. You’re our upper hand.”

Gaz blinks in surprise. “Wait, he never heard about Zim?”

“When he confronted me in the woods, he only talked about you two. He didn’t mention Zim at all. So I’m thinking we should maybe give it the benefit of the doubt here,” Keef offers with a shrug.

With an arrogant bark of laughter, Zim puffs out his chest. “Of course Zim is the upper hand! I am Zim, after all!”

Dib rolls his eyes. “As much as I hate to admit it, yeah. You’re our ace in the hole.” He wedges his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “But let’s work on fortifying the base first. Once we’re safe, we can start coming up with strategies to chase him off.”

“Okay, at the risk of sounding like a psycho,” Keef pipes up, hands raised in a mock gesture of surrender, “I’m gonna make the suggestion that we just kill him. He’s a bad guy, and I  _ did  _ stab him, so he isn’t immortal—”

“You  _ stabbed _ an  _ Archfey? _ ” Gaz exclaims, eyes wide. “That’s metal as  _ hell.” _

Zim lets out an incredulous laugh and strides across the room to throw an arm around Keef’s neck. With a finger poking one of the redhead’s freckled cheeks, Zim cackles, “Perhaps you are not the feeble worm I assumed, Keef-rat! Zim is proud of you for the success of your first stabbing!”

“ _ Guys, _ can we focus?” Dib groans.

Once he finally gets the attention of his companions, Dib sits down on the carpet and lets out a relieved breath. Zim, Keef, and Gaz move to sit down as well, arranged in a circle. GIR tumbles out of a ventilation shaft with an excited squeal and faceplants in the middle of the circle. 

Ignoring the little robot-dog, Dib looks around at his friends. 

“Okay, here we go…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. I'd just like to make it known that I am in full support of the BLM movement and the protests that are going on. If you are against it and/or think that George Floyd's death was justified, i ask that you stop reading this fic, leave my accounts on every social media platform, and not return until you've learned some empathy. Same with if you preach All Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter. I do not tolerate racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or prejudice of any kind. If you do have these intolerant beliefs, leave my fic and stop following my content. My content is not for you.
> 
> [Here is a link to ways you can help the fight against racism, whether you have money to donate or not.](https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/)
> 
> Black Lives Matter. All Cops Are Bastards.


	10. inferno

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW: VIOLENCE, DEATH, MILD GORE, SEVERE INJURY**
> 
> Thank you all for being so patient! I hope you like this chapter! ♡♡

The wind bites viciously at Dib’s face, turning his cheeks red and making his eyes water, but he doesn’t move from where he stands on Zim’s front step, still as a statue. He lets out a long, slow breath, sending a trail of vapour into the frigid air, but even then, his amber eyes don’t move from the figure facing him at the far end of the sidewalk. 

Tall, slender, and imposing, Archfey Regin stands ominously just outside the fence surrounding Zim’s base. If it hadn’t been for his eerily-glowing white eyes, Dib would never have been able to see him through the driving snow and inky blackness of night. Neither boy nor fae move for a long time. 

Then, Dib watches with a pang of fear as the Archfey’s bony, bare foot steps past the fence into Zim’s yard. Regin smiles, and Dib’s stomach churns. The boy swallows hard, praying to any deity listening that the faerie in front of him won’t smell his fear or notice the tremor in his gloved hands. 

“My, my. How you’ve grown in the past few years, my boy. You’ve matured into quite a fine half-dweller,” Regin croons, making a show of looking Dib up and down approvingly.

Bile rises in Dib’s throat at the “compliment,” but he swallows it back. “No thanks to  _ you. _ All you gave me was a curse I didn’t want and PTSD. Do you have any idea how many years of therapy your little “surprise visit” is screwing up? Too many, Regin. Too fucking many.”

The Archfey chuckles as if Dib just told him a joke. “Ah, it seems you still resent me for bringing you to my realm. A shame, really. Had you just stayed, you could’ve matured into a proper Faerie.”

“A “proper Faerie,” huh?” Dib hisses in a low tone, fists clenched impossibly tight. “So all those years you had me chained up in your house like an animal would make me into a “proper Faerie?””

“Of course—”

“I never  _ asked _ to be turned into a freak. You just saw a couple of lost kids and manipulated them into following you, where you could dress them up in pretty Fae clothes and parade them around for your Faerie friends to gawk at. You call yourself a powerful creature, but you only prey on helpless children who can’t defend themselves. That’s the act of a  _ coward, _ if you ask me,” Dib continues, words tumbling out of his throat faster and faster as his emotions threaten to spill over.

Regin’s eyes flicker with something dark. “Watch your tone,  _ Dib. _ You forget just how powerful I am—”

“Powerful, no. Monstrous, yeah,” Dib interrupts savagely. “I mean, what else do you call a creature that cuts a child’s tongue out with garden shears when that child just asks to go home?”

“It grew back the next day, and you needed to learn a lesson—”

“Shut.  _ Up!” _ the boy snarls, taking a threatening step forward.

Unperturbed by the gesture, the Archfey takes his own step closer. His lips curl back over needle-sharp teeth in a harrowing grin. “When I get you home, my boy, there’ll be  _ worse _ things than a tongue-removing coming your way.”

The tone in which those words are delivered, as well as the words themselves, set something off inside Dib. His anger and resolve melt away in an instant, replaced by fear and uncertainty. Half of his mind shouts at him to focus on reality and the mission at hand, but the other half, the half rooted in trauma and past abuse, tells him to submit to the Archfey in order to prevent even worse punishment.

As Dib grapples with himself, he gradually becomes aware of his friends’ auras starting to move. He blinks a few times, focusing his senses on them, and quickly realizes that they’re escaping the base through one of Zim’s numerous underground tunnels. And  _ that’s _ the moment that Dib manages to drag himself back to the present, and the task at hand.

An idea crosses his mind, and Dib’s heart races with adrenaline.

Still keeping his head lowered, he takes small, anxious steps closer to the Archfey. As he does, he makes a show of trembling and shrinking into himself in an attempt to fool Regin. After all, if Dib plays the “meek and cowardly” part, Regin will lower his guard and Dib will have countless openings to strike at.

“That’s a good child,” Regin hums in a sickeningly-sweet voice, “Come quietly, and perhaps I will lessen your punishment.”

Dib keeps his eyes focused on the snow-covered sidewalk and moves slowly, using his ESP to both trace his friends’ paths and to find energy sources to siphon nearby. He only stops when he sees the Archfey’s feet planted in his line of sight. 

Dib almost vomits when the Archfey’s spidery hand rests atop his head. 

“Come with me. We have a long journey ahead of us, and the weather is atrocious.”

_ Now! _

Beneath the snow, a massive patch of dormant grass turns to ash. And Dib channels that life-energy outward, using his powers to rip up the pointed fence posts lining the yard behind the Archfey. Only then does he look up. His face splits in a malicious smile.

“You made a mistake, Regin.”

Still unaware of the fence posts pointing ominously at his back, Regin narrows his eyes at Dib. “I do not make mistakes.”

“Then what would you call... _ this?” _

A blood-curdling screech echoes down the empty street as numerous wooden fence posts rocket into the Archfey’s back, sending dimly-glowing silver blood spraying across the front of Dib’s blue jacket. Overcome by pain, the Archfey pulls away from Dib and claws at the pointed stakes protruding from his torso and abdomen. And that’s when Dib whirls around and  _ bolts.  _

He carries himself effortlessly over the fence to his right before shooting into the back alley and sprinting after his friends’ now-distant auras. Behind him, he can feel Regin’s aura spiking with rage and agony as he wrenches the wooden planks from his body. But even though that will likely keep the Archfey busy for some time, Dib doesn’t dare slow down. He keeps his head forward and continues racing for his destination with ESP-enhanced speed.

Dib rips through the small forest behind the Hi-Skool without a second thought and bursts out into the vacant Skoolyard. His breath comes in labored gasps and his lungs burn, but he doesn’t slow down at all. Especially not now, when he can feel Regin’s aura tracking him at ludicrous speed. 

The Archfey appears at the far end of the Skoolyard at the same moment Dib reaches a ventilation shaft in the Hi-Skool wall. The grate has already been wrenched off of the vent, leaving it open for easy access, and Dib wastes no time in squeezing into the ventilation shaft. 

He doesn’t need to go far before he encounters another opening in the vent, this time inside the Skool. And as he reaches it, someone reaches in and grabs his hands to pull him out. 

Gaz yanks Dib out of the vent, and the pair of them fall into an ungraceful heap on the linoleum floor. While Dib would love to lie down and rest right where he lays, he knows they’re on a time crunch and quickly scrambles to his feet. Gaz follows suit, with a growl, “Where’s the deranged Fairy Godmother?”

Down the hall, the sound of creaking metal and shattering glass can be heard. Gaz lets out a quiet “ah” of realization before the siblings turn and race down the hall in the opposite direction. 

As they run, Dib gasps, “Did you manage to deal with the security cameras?”

“Yeah, I did. They’re all disabled,” Gaz replies between breaths. 

“Get back here  _ now!” _ The Archfey howls behind them, making Dib nauseous with anxiety. 

Gaz groans. “Persistent fucker, ain’t he?”

“Can we  _ not _ talk about him right now?”

They tear around a corner, and Dib’s eyes flicker up to the classroom signs hanging from the ceiling. The first few are just class numbers and homeroom teacher names, but soon enough, the sign Dib was hoping for makes itself known.

_ Welding Class. _

As they grow rapidly closer, Gaz cups her hands around her mouth and shouts, “Hey, Ron Weasley! Get ready!”

Behind them, Dib can hear the Archfey’s huffing breaths. 

Dib and Gaz pass the welding lab door, and the moment they do, Keef bursts out with a plastic cement-mixing pail in his hands. He keeps pace with Dib and Gaz, but slows down and turns to face the Archfey after a short time. 

With a huge clattering noise, Keef dumps the contents of the large pail messily across the hallway. Dib glances over his shoulder at the same moment Keef tosses the pail carelessly off to the side, and can’t help the smirk that crosses his face. 

Reflecting the dim hallway light, hundreds of thumbtacks, nails, and iron shavings litter the floor like the jagged teeth of some eldritch monstrosity. 

The moment the Archfey steps on the mess, another agonized wail rips through the halls, shaking the floor beneath their feet and making Dib’s ears ring. This part of the plan had been entirely Keef’s idea, and Dib found the very Home Alone-style trap amusing as well as useful, so it ended up being used. And Dib is quite happy he agreed to Keef’s idea. He’s not sure they could’ve made it to their destination without being caught, had this not been part of the plan.

They keep sprinting down the halls, matching each other’s pace flawlessly as they twist, turn, and veer around countless corners until they reach their destination: the library.

Gaz puts on a burst of speed, darting ahead of Keef and Dib before shoving the doors open. She holds them open for the boys, letting them race into the library, then she runs into the vast room after them. The door slams shut behind the trio. 

Chest heaving with great gasping breaths, Dib whirls around to face his friend and his sister. “You guys all good to go on the plan?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Gaz mutters with a shrug.

“Hell yeah, I’m ready,” Keef replies, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Dib lets out an anxious breath. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

* * *

Tucked underneath the librarian’s desk, Keef sits at the ready with a wooden yardstick in each hand. Through a tiny crack in the old desk, Keef can see the library doors, and he keeps his eyes trained on them intently. He lets out a quiet breath.

_ We can do this. _

Just as Keef tries reassuring himself, the glass doors are kicked open with such force that they crack. Hardly a heartbeat later, the Archfey stalks menacingly through the doors. Keef stiffens.

The Archfey’s feet hiss and crackle as the iron chips and thumbtacks stuck in them react with his skin, leaving bloody silver footprints on the cold floor. He seems to have grown at least a foot, his face has contorted into something animalistic and skeletal with rage, and two massive, black gossamer wings flare out from his back. As he whips his head around to look for his prey, Keef gets a better look at the Archfey’s head.

Where there had once been delicate, almost doll-like features, there’s now the stark white of a puma skull. White orbs flicker and dance in the empty sockets, and silver ichor drips from the Archfey’s gnashing jaws. 

“You cannot hide _ ,”  _ the Archfey hisses in a rattling sneer, “I  _ will _ find you. And when I do, not even your very  _ soul _ will be left intact _.” _

Keef steels himself, biting the inside of his cheek. Then, he raises the yardsticks in his hands and bangs them rapidly against the desk. 

The Archfey turns as if to move towards Keef’s hiding spot, but Keef rolls out and darts behind a bookshelf. Before the Archfey even gets close, there’s an answering crash as another one of the trio knocks a trolley of hardcover books to the floor on the opposite end of the library.

The Archfey turns to look in the direction of the noise. Face splitting in a grin, Keef uses the distraction to change hiding places. He ducks behind a display case. A third loud noise erupts in the library. It sounds like a trashcan being kicked over.

Yet again, Regin turns to look that way in confusion. Keef kicks the display case, and a few trophies clatter off their shelves. Hardly a second later, the loud slap of a big book being shut aggressively echoes from somewhere else. 

Keef, Gaz, and Dib work as a unit, confusing the Archfey with their constantly-moving noises as he struggles with pinpointing their location. His head whips around wildly, sending ichor spattering over the floor and his wings twitching as his agitation grows. 

This isn’t going to last forever, though. They just need to distract Regin long enough for their “secret weapon” to show itself. Keef grits his teeth.

_ Hurry up, Zim! _

Despite the short-term success of their misdirection plan, it was bound to fail at some point. The Archfey lets out a bellow of fury and strikes out at one of the ten-foot-tall bookshelves scattered throughout the room. The force of the blow sends the entire thing teetering precariously to one side before it collapses entirely. 

As it hits the floor with a deafening crash, Keef picks up on another noise. A noise like a pained wheeze. Keef’s blood runs cold

“ _ Fuck, no!”  _ Dib’s voice rings out in the following quiet. 

From his newest hiding place, Keef sees Dib leap out into the open and swerve around to kneel at the far end of the fallen bookshelf. Keef sees the distressed look on Dib’s face and puts two and two together. 

_ Gaz is trapped under there. _

As Keef tries to come up with a way they can get out of this alive, the Archfey cackles in a borderline-maniacal voice and starts leisurely crossing the room towards Dib and Gaz. Dib wedges his hands under the bookshelf and starts trying to lift it. As he does, his veins light up cyan and glowing blood of the same colour spurts from his nose. 

Keef bites his lip. 

_ There’s nothing living that he can siphon energy from. He’s using his own life-force as energy.  _

He makes a decision. 

_ He just needs to get Gaz out. Then we can take him together. _

Keef steps out of his hiding place. 

_ I just need to give them 30 seconds.  _

Before he can properly process what he’s doing, Keef has crossed the room at a dead sprint and lowered himself into a fighting stance. Remembering the techniques from his boxing and martial arts classes, Keef strikes the oblivious Archfey.

His fist connects with the back of the Archfey’s skull, and Keef winces as he feels his knuckles split with the impact. The hit knocks the feline skull clean off the Archfey’s shriveled neck, where it clatters to the floor. Keef sets his jaw and wastes no time in continuing his assault. 

The Archfey’s head floats back up from the ground to settle itself back on his shoulders, and despite the flurry of heavy blows Keef lands, the beast manages to turn and try fighting back, and Keef realizes something.

Where Keef fights deliberately, ducking and dodging away from blows before landing calculated, powerful hits of his own, the Archfey acts on pure instinct. He’s likely never had to fight hand-to-hand like this very often, and it shows. Keef sees the attacks telegraphed a solid second before they’re enacted, and dodges easily despite the Archfey’s speed. 

He doesn’t dare change his focus. He may be a more skilled fighter, but the Archfey is a much more powerful creature, and even with his sloppy blows, he’s still quick enough that Keef only narrowly dodges them. 

Observe. Duck. Counter. Dodge. Strike. 

Keef almost completely forgets he’s fighting for his life. All that flits through his mind are the tips he’d gotten from his boxing coaches and martial arts masters, and he settles into a familiar rhythm. It’s almost like he’s been mentally teleported back to the gym, facing a human sparring partner. 

That is, until a flicker of movement past the Archfey catches Keef’s attention and drags him back to the present.

_ Oh, right.  _

A wave of relief washes over Keef when he sees Dib helping Gaz to her feet. 

_ This isn’t a sparring class. _

Keef doesn’t notice the blow coming until it’s already on its way.

The claws are lined up with his throat and Keef desperately tries to back up out of range. He tucks his chin in to protect his neck at the same time he raises his arms in an attempt at blocking. The Archfey’s claws miss Keef’s throat.

Instead, they rip through the left side of his face. 

For a moment, Keef doesn’t feel anything other than blood dripping down his face. He can’t see out of his left eye.

_ Strange... _

Then, his vision whites out with agony. 

Keef collapses.

* * *

_ We’re so fucked. _

Gaz’s eyes are frozen on the sight of Keef curled on the floor with his hands pressed to his face. He lets out small, choked noises every few moments as shudders rack his body and blood pools on the floor beneath his head. 

Slowly, Gaz turns her attention to her brother. Her heart stops.

Dib stands stiffly beside her, his mouth hanging open as he struggles to breathe. His eyes are wide and spilling over with tears, and his fingers shake as Dib’s body lights up blue.

“ _ I told you what would happen, Dib,” _ The Archfey sneers in the Fae language. “ _ Look at what you’ve done.” _

Hyperventilating, Dib stares between the Archfey and Keef’s injured form. His eyes flicker solid blue. “Y-you...I didn’t…”

_ “It’s all your fault.” _

“No, no, i-it’s not my fault! I—”

_ “Your friend is dying because of you—” _

Gaz grits her teeth and throws a fireball at the Archfey. He dodges it neatly, and the fireball crashes against a bookshelf. The entire thing goes up in flames that threaten to spread throughout the library. “Shut up, you fucking rat,” she snarls at the beast facing her.

_ “It seems the younger one wishes to die next. Are you prepared to watch your baby sister get torn apart and strewn through this filthy building—” _

“Stay away!” Dib screams in a voice ragged with panic as the room rumbles.

Gaz stiffens. Books tumble from the standing shelves as the room rumbles with Dib’s trembling body.. She grabs him by the sleeve of his coat. “Dib,  _ don’t—” _

“I-I-I can’t...I can’t let him—”

“Dib, listen to me—”

Dib shakes Gaz off and reaches up to pull at his hair. “He’s gonna kill us all, I need to d-do something.”

As the shaking grows more and more powerful, sending framed pictures plummeting down from the walls, Gaz picks up on a familiar sound. 

Pneumatics hissing, gears whirring, metal clanking.

_ Zim. _

* * *

As Zim emerges from the shadows, red eyes narrowed against the overpowering firelight, he picks up on the sickly scent of human blood. It hangs in the air like a disease, only beat out by the sour reek of fear that permeates the entire library.

His PAK legs are encased in sloppy DIY sheaths of pure, heavy iron, which is what took him so long to arrive. He’d been busily throwing together anti-Fae coating for his weaponry. But at the sight of his three companions, the Irken’s spooch twists horribly.

Keef is slumped facedown on the floor, a pool of blood slowly seeping out from around his head like a crimson halo. Gaz is also on the floor, her pantlegs visibly marred with scuffs and blood. And Dib...Dib gives off a scent that makes Zim’s instincts scream at him to run, run,  _ run! _ It’s a smell he’s never encountered before, carrying the odor of death and rot, while also intoxicated with the stink of fear and blood. But there’s also something much more primordial and terrifying there that Zim can’t describe. 

Sweat beads on the back of his neck.

_ DANGER DANGER DANGER _

He forces himself to look back at the Archfey, who now looks absolutely terrifying.

_ He is what caused the injury and distress to the humans. _

His face twists in a snarling grimace.

_ He will pay. _

Zim lunges for the Archfey, PAK legs outstretched

_ Make him pay. _

Years and years of combat training flood to the forefront of his mind. His face splits in a manic grin, his claws twitch restlessly, and he hyper-focuses on the sound of the Archfey’s humming blood. His mind and body split, reality seeming to come undone as Zim disassociates from what he knows is going to happen next.

_ Make. Him. Pay. _

* * *

Dib is losing himself.

His breath comes in ragged gasps, his heart hammers frantically against his ribs, and shudders rack his frame. He hugs himself with wide eyes fixated on the floor as sparks pop and crackle from the rapidly-growing library inferno. He’s not sure if it’s the heat or the anxiety that’s making him sweat.

Distantly he can hear Gaz talking to him, but his mind continues to play the Archfey’s words over and over and over again.

_ It really is gonna be my fault. _

Dib swallows hard.

_ They’re dying because of me. _

He feels like his body is too small to hold all of him. Dib can’t help but feel like there’s some way he can destroy everything in his path.

He’s going to protect them.

Metal screeching against metal. Animalistic hissing. A gasp of alarm.

Dib looks up to see Zim lunge at the Archfey from a curtain of sparks and fire like a blazing demon. His clawed fingers grab at the Archfey’s clothes, swiping at the creature’s skeletal face and withered neck as a manic string of laughter tumbles from the Invader’s throat. 

His PAK legs whistle through the air. The Archfey gathers a black ball of energy in his palm. Zim impales that wrist. As the Archfey struggles to fight back, Zim goes for the kill. His iron-plated PAK leg impales the beast through the chest. 

A horrible gurgling noise leaves the faerie as the reek of burning flesh mingles with the suffocating smoke. But Zim isn’t done. He jumps forward to pin the Archfey flat against the floor and raises his PAK legs. Using them to pin the beast down, Zim hisses deep in his chest and jolts his head forward. 

Dib’s stomach lurches as Zim tears the Archfey’s throat out with his jagged teeth. 

Silver blood drips down Zim’s face and neck, and his eyes are wide with a feral madness Dib’s never seen before. The Invader watches triumphantly as the Archfey melts into a bed of black flowers that coat the floor. Only then does he turn his head aside and spit the Archfey’s flesh out, which turns into black flower petals before it hits the floor. 

And in an instant, the wild look in Zim’s eye is replaced by barely-concealed panic. He leaps to his feet and turns to Dib.

“Are the Dib and the sister-larva well enough to walk?!” he shouts over the roaring fire and creaking timbers. 

A heavy wooden beam collapses from the roof to crash into the floor. Zim jumps nimbly out of the way just in time, pulling his hood up to shield his head from the cascading sparks. 

Dib shakes himself and cups his hands around his mouth, “Y-yeah, we’re fine! Keef’s unconscious, though!”

Zim glances aside at Keef, not hesitating to dart over to his side and hoist the unconscious boy over his shoulders. Dib rises on shaky feet, Gaz at his side, and approaches Zim and Keef. By now, the smoke is overwhelming, and both Gaz and Dib are coughing violently. 

Zim’s purple eyes flicker with worry so quickly, Dib’s almost convinced he imagined it. Before he can think about it too much though, Zim is breaking into a jog and shouting orders over his shoulder. “Stay close to Zim!”

Dib isn’t about to argue. With a quick sideways glance to make sure Gaz is close, Dib speeds up to match Zim’s pace and helps him carry Keef. Of course, the alien soldier could probably carry Keef just fine without help, but he doesn’t complain as Dib shares the weight. 

Zim lights the way down the smoke-filled halls, having shed his iron plating. They move at a brisk pace, but Dib isn’t about to complain, what with his watering eyes and struggling lungs. Finally, they reach the closest exit. Zim rips the door off its hinges using his PAK legs and throws it back inside the smoky school. 

They emerge to hear sirens wailing in the distance. Zim hisses something under his breath in Irken. 

The Invader brings his wrist up and shouts at a watchlike device wrapped around it. “GIR!”

**“Sir!”** GIR’s voice crackles through a speaker on the watch.

“Bring me my Voot, quickly! The Keef-rat has been wounded!”

**“Yes, my Master!”**

The line cuts out, and hardly a minute later, the Voot comes careening out of the sky, where it lands sloppily on the dirt. GIR leaps out of the cockpit with an excited squeal, clapping his hands together. 

“Did you’s make a campfire? I brought marshmallows!” he exclaims before his head flies open and a bag of hard, expired marshmallows pops out. 

Zim ignores his little robot, instead taking Keef from Dib and dragging the redhead into the cockpit. He lies the unconscious Keef carefully on the floor, then shoots an authoritarian glare at Dib and Gaz. Zim points a finger at the siblings.

“We will discuss the details of this mission later, humans,” Zim hisses, “but only once the Keef-rat is lucid and unharmed. For now, return to Zim’s base. You will be safe there.”

Between coughs, Dib chokes out, “Where are you—”

“To the hoss-pee-tall, obviously!” Zim snaps. “As magnificent as I am, Zim is not well-versed in the means of healing human-pig-smellies! So for now, I will take the Keef-rat to a human medical facility. Zim will see you foolish humans later!”

And with that, the alien uses a PAK leg to snatch GIR off the grass and slams the cockpit door shut. The engines whir to life, lifting the Voot slowly off the snow. Then, the Voot rockets straight up into the night sky and out towards the hospital. Gaz and Dib stare after him for a few seconds. 

Dib finally finds his voice. “I...I guess maybe he isn’t such a bad guy after all…?”

“Guess not,” Gaz begins before jabbing a thumb over her shoulder, “but unless we wanna get thrown in Juvie, we should probably get the hell out of here before the cops and fire department arrive.”

Dib heaves a sigh. “I got us, hang on…”

Ignoring the way his head explodes with pain, Dib siphons the life force of the grass beneath the snow and uses its energy to lift himself and Gaz off the ground. In the span of a few seconds, Dib has carried them off of school grounds and past the small forest surrounding the Hi-Skool. He sets himself and his sister down gently on the ground. Then, once they’re both safely out of range of the school, he lets out a wheeze and flops backwards into the snowy grass. 

The snow melts against his skin and sends a chill through his sore body, but he doesn’t dislike the feeling. In fact, the cold only accentuates and intensifies the new, creeping warmth that spreads through him when he thinks about the success of their whole operation. A tiny smile plays at his lips, and for once, it’s a genuine one.

Gaz sits down on the snow beside him. Her eyes are wide as she takes in Dib’s expression, and she speaks tentatively when she murmurs, “Dude. You’re actually  _ smiling. _ ”

The smile is awkward on Dib’s face, and it probably looks awful, but the boy can’t help but let it spread further. With a huff of laughter, he turns his head to look at his sister. “Yeah. I guess I am.”

“Is it because we killed the Archfey?”

Dib nods. “Unfortunately, Fae never truly die. They’re tied to nature, and nature always regrows and takes over again, but he won’t be that powerful again for a really long time. Still, I feel like a big weight’s been taken off my back, y’know?”

“Yeah,” Gaz hums before lying back in the snow beside her brother, “I think I do.”

* * *

“So you’re saying your friend was attacked by a dog?”

“Yes, a very large one. A very, very large and ugly dog-smelly.”

“And the silver liquid on you both is…”

“Glitter glue.”

The receptionist eyes Zim skeptically as the Invader stands across from her. His jagged teeth are bared in what he hopes is a convincing smile, but he’s not sure it’s working. 

_ I should have just dumped the Keef at the front doors. _

“Mmkay, then, and your name is…?” the tired-faced woman drawls, flipping a page on a clipboard.

Zim laces his fingers behind his back. “Zim!”

“Surname?”

The Invader pales. “S-surname? Oh, of course! Silly me, Zim’s last name is…” Zim’s eyes dart around the room, stopping on two of the first objects that stand out to him, “...erm...I am Zim…snack...chair.”

“Zim Snackchair?”

Zim kind of wants to die. But he fights through it and does his best to remain convincing. “Yes! Is there a problem?”

The receptionist sighs, probably thinking she’s not paid enough to care about Zim’s obvious lie. She waves a hand dismissively. “No problem big enough to cause concern. Thank you for bringing your friend to us, Mr. Snackchair.”

With a brief nod and a quiet “thank you,” Zim spins on his heel and makes his way out of the lobby and into the chilly night air. He heaves a sigh.

_ Thank Irk the Dib is not here. I would never hear the end of “Zim Snackchair.” _

As he walks off in the direction he hid the Voot, he pauses, antennae twitching under his wig. He could’ve sworn he just heard something. A voice.

A moment later, the whisper comes again. Zim narrows his eyes. Then, when the whisper finally grows distinct enough to make out the words, the Invader stiffens.

_ “It Sees. The green one Sees.” _

Zim glances around, readying his PAK in case something dangerous raises its horrifying head. Its glow intensifies noticeably. The Invader’s breath hisses through bared teeth. “Show yourself!”

_ “It can See. It Sees those who dwell between existences.” _

“I can hear you, now face me!” Zim snarls. 

The words devolve into indistinct murmurs, whirling around Zim like a fall breeze before settling into place behind him. He turns, and what he sees makes his PAK circuits stutter. 

His shadow is filled with dozens of eyes. 

They all stare at Zim, murmuring in tongues. 

The Invader bolts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr!](http://www.hitamory.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [My Instagram!](http://www.instagram.com/hitamory/)
> 
> The title is a quote from _The Nameless City_ by HP Lovecraft, and the summary is the lyrics [to this particular song!](https://youtu.be/pwhec-xnWfY)


End file.
